Tyson Fury will try to keep Anthony Joshua on his back foot with the jab, predicts Grey Johnson of BoxRec, the official database for pro boxing. Maybe sneak in an uppercut and hurt Joshua.
Joshua, by contrast, will try to box carefully for a bit to get his confidence going, said BoxRec’s Johnson. Maybe get in some counters and then he can push Fury around.
In abrupt and welcome fashion, talk around the heavyweight boxing match between Fury (36-2-1, 25 KOs) and Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) finally shifted from if it will happen to what might happen during a fight between two former world champions.
It’s on, and it’s a win for boxing.
No gimmicks. No influencers. Just two British heavyweights capable of slugging it out.
Let’s get the details out of the way:
When: Dec. 11.
Where: Principality Stadium in Cardiff Wales of the United Kingdom.
Time: 2 a.m. local time. 9 p.m. ET.
Streaming: Netflix (free with a monthly subscription.)
Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury scouting report
Joshua stands 6-6 and for his last fight weighed in at 251 pounds.
Fury stands 6-9 and for his last fight weighed 261 pounds.
In December, Joshua broke Jake Paul’s jaw in two places during a sixth-round knockout victory. In July, Joshua knocked out Kristian Prenga in the second round.
In July, Fury’s opponent, Mariusz Wach did not bother coming out for the eighth round.
Both Fury and Joshnua are equipped to stop the other with one punch.
Ideally, they would have fought seven years ago. In recent years, both fighters have showed their age.
Joshua, 36, got knocked down twice in the first by Prenga in July before he staved off near-disaster with his second-round KO. He also suffered a brutal knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in 2024.
Fury, 37, got knocked down in 2023 by Francis Ngannou, the former UFC champion who was making his pro boxing debut.
Both Joshua and Fury also have lost two fights to Oleksandr Usyk, the former undisputed heavyweight champion.
But enough of the flaws.
Fury and Joshua remain two of the biggest and most charismatic stars in boxing. They have the size and the skill to deliver an electric fight, in front of an expected sellout crowd of 73,000 in Principality Stadium and a global audience on Netflix.
Tyson is the early favorite, and the line could shift before something becomes clear about this fight.
Boxing wins.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: It should have happened years ago. Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are finally ready
