Hughie Fury steps into the ring on Saturday at the age of 26 to meet Mariusz Wach, who will turn 41 two days after their meeting on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev. However, the pair both find themselves at a crossroads in a heavyweight division filling up fast with promising talent.
Wach challenged and was defeated by Wladimir Klitschko in 2012 with the Ukrainian's WBA, WBO, IBF and The Ring belts on the line. Shortly after, the Polish fighter tested positive for and admitted to doping for the biggest night of his career.
Fury, meanwhile, was slightly unfortunate in his three professional losses to Joseph Parker, Kubrat Pulev and Alexander Povetkin. Coming up short against his three most formidable opponents leaves him at the risk of being saddled with the tag of a "B+ player" in the maximum weight class.
Defeat at the SSE Arena, live on Sky Sports Box Office in the U.K. and Ireland and worldwide via a DAZN subscription, will likely spell the end for either man's aspirations of further world title fights in the future.
Younger man Fury claimed at the final press conference ahead of fight night that it is his time, and he has plenty of it to bounce back from his setbacks and prove himself to be world level.
"I believe I’m ready for all these fights, and people are going to see that," he said. "Wach is a tough feller. He’s been whacked and was still standing up. I’m looking forward to it.
"I can box him, I can knock him out. I believe in myself and what I bring to the table. The main thing is to get the W. I look forward to putting on a show for the fans. I belong in this division especially at the world level, and I’m going to take over. Mark my words."
His veteran opponent cracked a smile during Fury's confident words but responded: "43 other fighters said similar things as my opponent.
"I hope that the energy he is using now will be saved for Saturday’s fight. I’m certainly in the best form of my career and I aim to win Saturday’s bout.
"It will be a very difficult fight for both of us. I know he is much younger and wants to earn his way to a world title fight, but I want to stop him. I want to fight for the world title myself."
Regardless of who emerges victorious, it will be interesting to watch the nephew of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury compete on the undercard of Joshua, who holds the division's other major titles. If "AJ" can get past Pulev on Saturday, "The Gipsy King" is likely to be next in a 2021 megafight.