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Add FightsATW on GoogleTwo former belt holders sit as inevitable foes, even after Anthony Joshua had to get off the deck twice to stop relatively unknown Kristian Preng. Tyson Fury looked slow and old in circulated clips from his fight against Mariusz Wach.
The two bouts served as a reminder that we don’t live in 2018. We now live in a world where yesterday’s stars seem to be just hanging on. This weekend, we saw it with the two heavyweights and with Tim Tszyu winning a unanimous decision over Errol Spence (which headlined a pay-per-view), and neither looked good in the bout.
Heavyweight is probably the worst for wear when it comes to this happening. Joshua, Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, and Deontay Wilder all sit in an emeritus league. None seem content to give the younger guys a shot, but they all seem a bit too comfortable sticking around for just one more fight. Meanwhile, Agit Kabayel and Moses Itauma sit as the potential suitors of the next era. The can that is the next era keeps getting kicked down the road as no one is willing to step away first.
Now, we are in for the treat of hearing a lot about Fury vs. Joshua. Yes, it is a battle between two famous British fighters. Six years ago, it would have been huge, but now it is closer to a bank robbery than to getting the gang back together.
Fury (36-2-1, 25 KOs) has never had a traditional physique, but he is a special fighter. At 37, he looks slow; he retired after his second loss to Usyk. That loss appeared to be mentally crippling. He returned in April against Arslanbek Makhmudov; it was fun to see the old Fury schtick, as hopes were that he would reclaim the magic. The magic is gone. Fury is an older fighter who can still box well, but he is just a step slower.
Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) is the opposite; he looks great getting off the bus but has taken damage and shows vulnerability at 36. Prenga looked like a suitable tune-up fight that ended up on pay-per-view, and Joshua got knocked down twice. After rebuilding from consecutive losses to Usyk, Joshua was brutally knocked out by Daniel Dubois in 2024. Since then, he fought Jake Paul in December. He didn’t look great in that either.
Joshua was supposed to be the man. He was supposed to be the next great heavyweight, but now he is the fighter we look at as what he could’ve been. Joshua was always robotic, but getting knocked out by Andy Ruiz Jr. derailed his momentum. Now, Joshua lacks both boxing skills and the ability to take damage, which is a bad combo.
Yet the fight between Fury and Joshua pits two famous British fighters against each other, for the ever-pressing reason to make fights in the modern era: money. When it is inevitably made, it will be hyped as the fight of the century, whereas, like my podcast co-host Dakota astutely notes, it is like Kell Brook versus Amir Khan, a good rivalry that missed its peak window. This sentiment is shared by many on the U.S. side, but then we have another odd quirk.
Where Will The Fight Be Held And At What Time?
As if it wasn’t bad enough that we would be getting a nostalgia act, pandering to the past, it will be accompanied by a soap opera over whether the fight will happen in the U.S. or the U.K. Obviously, it should happen in the U.K. That is common sense, but the latest development I am trying my hardest to ignore is the start time. It would be early in the morning overseas to accommodate U.S. fans. WTF?
Joshua is a global star, but he had only one fight in America. He was also brutally knocked out in that bout, and his career nearly derailed. Fury had a great run during the Top Rank-ESPN deal, but has been out of sight, out of mind for years. It isn’t just that the U.S. market is indifferent; it is as if boxing as a whole is obsessed with name value over relevant fights. What is plaguing boxing is a corporate approach that prioritizes big-name fighters and matches them up, rather than creating compelling fights with good fighters.
Boxing will never die, but some of the funkiness we have grown to love is dying on the vine, and Fury-Joshua represents the issues as a whole. It’s a good old-fashioned fight set to take center stage in the fourth quarter of this year or next as a tentpole event. The reality is it’ll be two diminished fighters rekindling a rivalry for a lot of money. It will get a lot of attention, but it will underscore an obvious fact at this point: as long as Fury is in shape, he is just a lot better than Joshua.
The toughest part of this is the divide that feels like it’s splitting boxing now. Not in terms of promoters, but among the fighters themselves. You have emeritus million-dollar fighters like Joshua-Fury, Ryan Garcia, and Conor Benn; then you have the champions like Kabayel; and then you have prospects. The prospects are getting less attention than ever, the champions are getting fights that don’t move the needle, and the million-dollar fighters are past their prime and struggling in high-profile fights.
What does that equate to? The sport looks bad because the fights people tune into don’t seem very memorable.
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