Risk vs Reward: Anthony Joshua And Tyson Fury Fight Back to Back In Hopes of a Fourth Quarter Showdown

What’s at stake this week for former heavyweight titleholders Anthony Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs) and Tyson Fury (35-2-1, 24 KOs)?

Neither is fighting the other, but that doesn’t inherently matter. Joshua is fighting Kristian Prenga at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia. The undercard was announced about 15 days before the DAZN pay-per-view fight.

Meanwhile, in Thailand, Fury will face 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in a bout that currently lacks a streaming platform.

The implication this week is that if both win, they will fight each other, potentially by the end of the year.

Let’s unpack everything we should know.

It Has Been A Tough Go For Anthony Joshua

Joshua was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in 2024. He returned to knock out Jake Paul in December. Later that month, two of his close friends died in a car accident in which he was a passenger. He returns to fight Prenga, a regional northeastern fighter whose biggest win is over Joey Dawejko. Prenga also lost his fifth pro fight to Giovanni Auriemma, who was 1-2 heading into the bout.

So on paper, despite being a pay-per-view, this feels like a stay-busy fight and a chance for Joshua to rekindle some magic from his reckless punching days.

Joshua Didn’t Get The Most Out of His Abilities

When you look at Joshua’s career, it is astonishing that he isn’t a sure-fire Hall of Famer, given the money that has backed his career. He won an Olympic gold medal, which tends to be a tablesetter for all-time greats. He won belts from vulnerable and older champions, which is what blue-chip guys do. Yet he stumbled. He didn’t look great against Joseph Parker’s jab; he got knocked out by Andy Ruiz Jr.; he did what he had to do in the rematch, but it was sportsmanlike, not definitive like Lennox Lewis, whom he was being compared to. Oleksandr Usyk outclassed him twice, and Dubois ended his era (or the illusion) that he was ever the top heavyweight.

The fear with Joshua is always himself. On any given night, he can be his own worst nightmare, and even against a limited puncher, he can make fights harder than they need to be.

Will Tyson Fury’s Fight Be A Sparring Session? 

Seriously? The sentiment I get is that Fury wants to go the distance after defeating Arslanbek Makhmudov. I am not sure if it will be broadcast, but my gut tells me this will be a chance for Fury to move around, not unlike sparring. Joshua is giving a club fighter a chance; Fury is giving an older fighter one last payday. Neither bout is scintillating, but they both allude to a supposed good fight at the end, right?

Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua Isn’t That Good

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What am I missing? Call me crazy, but Fury is dramatically better than Joshua. Fury is arguably a top-10 all-time heavyweight, though his prime was brief and came in two windows. Joshua is a good puncher who lost belief in himself with each loss. This screams of two personality-driven fighters the British public have invested in – Joshua, micro-managed like “Sugar” Ray Leonard to be the good guy, and Fury, the zany character willing to be the bad guy at times.

From a personality and buildup standpoint, it could be a lot of fun. From a boxing standpoint, it is simply a way for both to make a lot of money and create a disappointing fight. Fury, unless he loses three steps, is vastly better than Joshua, and that was the one people viewed as a killer. Joshua is now coming off a long layoff and personal tragedies, and it could end his career.

This is probably a necessary fight to get where we want to go: a modern heavyweight division that is through with old-guy vanity fights. So let’s do this: guys like Fury, Joshua, and Usyk can retire, and let’s see the new era take shape.

Lucas Ketelle

Lucas Ketelle is a boxing writer and podcaster who has appeared on various platforms throughout his career.

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