Dismay sprawled across his face, Tyson Fury’s words expounded upon his shock.
“Listen, that’s cost me $150 million,” DAZN cameras at Wembley Stadium caught the “Gypsy King” saying in reaction to Anthony Joshua’s devastating fifth-round knockout loss at the hands of Daniel Dubois in September.
Just then, any thoughts of a mega-bout between Fury and AJ billowed up in smoke.
Or so it seemed ... because when Fury suffered his second points loss of 2024 to Oleksandr Usyk in December — this one by unanimous decision — instant groundswell for Fury vs. Joshua materialized once again.
And that brings us to DAZN's second New Year’s Resolution for boxing in 2025:
Fury vs. Joshua to set an all-time attendance record at Wembley and declare this era’s best British fighter
This year is the perfect time for the fight that has eluded boxing fans in the past. Both Fury and Joshua have lost twice to Usyk as the Ukrainian used his superb sweet science skills to defeat AJ by unanimous decision and split decision in September 2021 and August 2022, respectively, before edging the “Gypsy King” via split decision in May to reach undisputed glory and claiming a unanimous decision over Fury again in December for extra emphasis.
Certainly the manner at which Joshua was demolished by Dubois raises questions, as AJ was dropped four times in that astonishing loss that drew an all-time attendance record for a boxing bout at Wembley, with 98,128 fans.
That said, the only missing link from their respective ledgers is each other at this point.
Fury and Joshua each became a unified heavyweight world champion by defeating Wladimir Klitschko — the “Gypsy King” disrupting boxing’s hierarchy by outpointing the Ukrainian unanimously in a statement victory in Dusseldorf, Germany back November 2015. Then, AJ had a coming of age moment by producing a stirring 11-round TKO of the champ before a raucous crowd at Wembley in London in April 2017.
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Each man has given fans more memorable moments along the way. Joshua suffered one of boxing’s biggest upsets in being shocked by Andy Ruiz Jr. by a stunning seventh-round TKO loss at Madison Square Garden in New York City in June 2019, only to outpoint Ruiz in a boxing clinic to regain his unified crown six months later. Following his two losses to Usyk, Joshua re-established his career with a four-fight winning streak punctuated by his second-round destruction of former UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou last March.
Meanwhile, Fury overcame a toxic cocktail of drug/alcohol abuse, massive weight gain and mental health hurdles to not only resurrect his career but his life by returning from a near three-year layoff to regale fans, piquing their interest with his trilogy of fights with Deontay Wilder.
The three bouts had Fury using his charisma and refined boxing skills to reduce a knockout artist like the “Bronze Bomber” to rubble by delivering back-to-back knockouts in February 2020 and October 2021 following their thrilling split-decision draw in December 2018. The three bouts, which took place in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, also established Fury as a bonafide boxing superstar stateside.
Following their losses to Usyk, both Fury and Joshua are at a crossroads which lead to each other.
What lies ahead of Fury, 36, and Joshua, 35, is the opportunity to set the all-time attendance record at Wembley and decide the best British boxer of this generation, simultaneously.
With Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren handling the promoting duties and His Excellency Turki Alalshikh overseeing, Fury vs. Joshua for British boxing supremacy of this era is an apt request for the New Year with the former unified heavyweight champs converging at a time which makes perfect sense for both.
"The reality is there's only one fight for Tyson Fury and that's Anthony Joshua," Hearn told DAZN after witnessing Fury lose to Usyk last month. "It's the biggest fight probably in the history of British boxing. Everyone would always want to see it.
"AJ against Fury is the one."
We couldn’t agree more.
There’s no shame in losing two fights apiece to a generational talent like Oleksandr Usyk.
However, there would be great shame attached to Fury and Joshua never colliding.