For the best part of a decade, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have circled each other through false starts, collapsed negotiations, and one very expensive arbitration hearing. On Monday, it finally became real: both men have signed contracts to fight.

Promoter Eddie Hearn announced the deal on social media, declaring it “signed, sealed, delivered! AJ v Fury is on!” Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Al-Sheikh, who led negotiations, posted simply: “To my friends in Great Britain – it’s happening. It’s signed.”

No date or venue has been confirmed, though Hearn has previously suggested November on Netflix. Wembley Stadium and Dublin’s Croke Park are both under consideration, according to The Athletic.

Joshua, 36, must first get past Albanian Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on 25 July — a warm-up his team insisted upon. The 35-year-old Prenga carries a record of 20 wins, all by stoppage, and one loss: enough threat to feel like a real fight without seriously endangering the main event.

The interim step is understandable. Joshua has not competed since beating Jake Paul in December, weeks before a car crash in Nigeria killed two close friends on his team — Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele, per The Athletic. Joshua escaped without serious physical injury. The human cost was something else entirely.

“It’s no secret I’ve taken some time to consolidate and rebuild to be ready for stepping back into the ring and today is the next step on that journey,” Joshua said.

Fury, 37, has his own comeback arc — returning from retirement earlier this month with a decision win over Arslanbek Makhmudov before immediately calling out a ringside Joshua.

The fight comes later than anyone wanted. At a combined age of 73, with Oleksandr Usyk having beaten both men twice, this will not decide the era’s best heavyweight. But for British boxing, the wait itself has become part of the story. Barring a shock in Riyadh this summer, it ends this year.

Sources