By Sean Crose
It starts again. ESPN reports that WBC and lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua are in talks to finally face each other in England in September. No doubt fans would be eager to see these two men throw themselves into the ring, but they’ll also take the news with a grain of salt. They were on their way after all. Late last year, many high-profile talks between the two militant camps ended in fiasco. Fury stopped Derek Chisora in December while Joshua stopped Jermaine Taylor in April.
Fury has since engaged in wild negotiations with WBO, WBA and IBF title fighter Oleksandr Usyk, negotiations that have gone nowhere. Failure in this particular fight was quite irritating as the winner would become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in decades. However, Fury also went from there to feud with UFC star Jon Jones. Meanwhile, his team was in talks to possibly pit the tall Englishman against Australian heavyweight Demsey McKean. As always with Fury, the future is unclear.
As for Joshua, the popular Londoner is trying to restore his career after losing twice to Usyk, the man who ousted him from the titles. Still, there is no doubt that Joshua is a man who is not afraid to face a great rival. Besides, a victory over Fury would certainly change his career. However, a loss to Fury – and Fury would certainly be the betting favorite – would likely push Joshua out of the top heavyweight position. The match would indeed be a risky venture for Joshua, but as the British SAS says: “Whoever dares wins.” Of course, Tyson Fury may have something to say about that.
