A fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury has long been in the making. We can go back several years to find rumors about the two battling it out in the squared circle, but we are yet to see it happen. Could 2025 be the year in which AJ and Fury finally meet in the ring?
Fury Retirement
Tyson Fury announced his retirement from professional boxing following a second successive loss to undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in December. However, the retirement was short lived and the ‘The Gypsy King’ has released a statement saying he is ready to fight again. Fury did mention two men he would not be prepared to fight but AJ was not one of them. Both Agit Kabayel and Joseph Parker are off the list of potential candidates, but AJ is very much in the frame.
AJ Return
We must go back to September 2024 to find the last time AJ was in the ring, and he suffered a disappointing knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois. The loss to Dubois means AJ has lost 3 of his last 7 fights, including successive defeats to Usyk, something he and Fury have in common. Interestingly, YouTuber turned boxer, Jake Paul, has said he will be the next man to fight AJ. Speaking ahead of the recent meeting between Usyk and Dubois, Paul, when talking about AJ, said, "Yeh 100 per cent it's going to happen. We're going to do the unthinkable and create one of the biggest fights in the history of boxing.” AJ would be a huge favorite in the SpinBet casino betting odds for the fight and it could be the confidence boost he needs before a potential meeting with Fury.
Chances of AJ and Fury This Year
Clearly if AJ does fight Paul or another fighter late in 2025, a meeting with Fury is not going to happen this year. However, promoter Eddie Hearn sounded confident back in April when asked about the fight. Hearn said, "This is the kind of fight that probably gets made over a DM between the two or a text or a call. It's like 'look, do you fancy it?' That's it. And then, bang, it's done."
AJ probably has a maximum of two fights left in him before retirement and it would be a wonderful spectacle for British boxing fans to see him go toe-to-toe with Fury. Hearn has spoken about the fact Fury is unlikely to fight AJ before 2026 and if that is true, it means AJ will need to fight someone in 2025 to maintain his sharpness in the ring. So, we could see AJ fight Paul before the end of the year and that seems to be the most likely outcome right now.
Fury may have his sights set on a third attempt at Usyk and if he wins, could be required to face a more up and coming boxer than AJ for the defense of his titles. Whatever happens, it seems unlikely we are going to see AJ vs Fury later this year, but it could still happen in the first half of 2026.
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