Fury Vs. Joshua: Now Who Wins?

There was a time when, most likely, most fans would have picked Tyson Fury to defeat British rival Anthony Joshua, especially a year and a half or so ago, after Joshua had been KO’d by Daniel Dubois. But now, in light of how we don’t know who has more left – AJ or “The Gypsy King” – it is a tough one to call. And of course, we’ve been calling for this fight for so, so long.

Fury got the job done last night in scoring a near shut-out in his return fight (yet another “retirement ” having ended) with Arslanbek Makhmudov, but did Fury impress? Fury sure didn’t impress Joshua, who said Fury would get nothing but “hard work” in the ring with him. Will the fight ‘Finally!’ happen here in 2026? The two aging stars exchanged words last night; now we need to see Fury and Joshua exchange punches.

Or have you moved on? Is this a case of better late than never, or have you, fellow fight fan, moved on from this fight, lost almost all interest in it? In short, has this fight passed its sell-by date? Of course, the fight, if it happens, will do big numbers, and it will also generate a lot of cash. But will the fight prove to be a great one, even a good one? Fury is clearly not the force he once was, while it’s been a long time since Joshua scored a notably impressive win (forget his recent affair with Jake Paul).

Will Fury opt to box another tune-up fight before he rumbles with AJ, or will “The Gypsy King” jump right back into big-fight waters against another elite heavyweight instead? Joshua said last night that he is “the landlord,” that Fury works for him. But who is the A-side now between these two? Again, do you still care? The clock is almost done ticking as far as this fight goes, and if we don’t see it this year, we likely will never see it.

How much has Fury got left at this stage, and is his heart still in the sport the way it once was? How much has Joshua got left in the tank, and has he possibly got his confidence fully back after being so brutally KO’d by Dubois well over a year ago? Will we get our answers this year?

The build-up to Joshua-Fury, or Fury-Joshua – whoever you have as the A-side – should be fun, and one can already imagine some of the creative things Fury will get up to as he tries to undermine Joshua’s confidence and self-belief. But again, will the actual fight be fun? Will it really happen in 2026? This is at least five years after these two giants should have settled their differences.