At last, after years of speculation this biggest fight in British boxing history has been agreed, pending minor tweaks.
This deal has the potential to mark a landmark location in the history of a sport that has constantly deprived fans of the biggest spectacles and the most fantasised bouts.
A two-fight deal has been agreed, both fights of which are aimed to take place in 2021. The winner of the second fight will receive 60% of the purse while the first fight is an automatic 50-50 split.
The arrangement of a two fight deal does leave the intriguing possibility of a trilogy taking place in the near future, more likely if the original two bouts are a split eitherway.
The most intriguing question still yet to be answered is why this fight has come now? Joshua has already lost his unbeaten record, which for all intents and purposes isn’t entirely relevant but adds an attraction.
Fury on the other hand appears to be the man on the top of the hill currently after beating Wilder. This fight 2-3 years ago wouldn’t have really suited him coming back of such a lengthy lay-off.
The attraction may have faded slightly but with both men now the wrong side of thirty it may be a case of entirely now or never
Fury himself, has spoken about his desire to quit boxing, citing Joshua amongst one of the men he wants to beat before he calls it quits.
If his words are to be true, this could be one of his last fights should he manage to beat Joshua twice. A retirement fight against the likes of Dillian Whyte wouldn’t really mascarade as a suitable fight for Fury to bow-out on hype wise.
Beating Joshua and making a boat-load of money before returning to the WWE seems like the ultimate Tyson Fury ending in the ring and this deal appears to shape him up perfectly to do that.
It has to be mentioned what this deal does for British boxing however. Two of the best heavyweights competing hopefully on British soil for a unification fight signifies a potential changing of the guard away from the notorious American monopolisation of the sport.
Fellow Brit Lennox Lewis, was the last man to unify the division back when there were only three belts to compete for. Throughout the tenure of the Klitschko’s brothers and the litany of other champions the now four belts have managed to remain separated for the last twenty years.
Stylistically the fight will have pundits and fans enticed all over the world.
Fury’s defensively masterful style has gained him plaudits but the ruthless power and and aggression he showed in the second fight vs Deontay Wilder was something no one expected.
Joshua likewise showed a different side to his trade in the second Andy Ruiz fight. The patience and composure was entirely dissimilar to the normal brash brute force he uses to overpower opponents.
In some ways, it will be the cliché Immoveable object vs unstoppable object.
