Talk about a banana-peel weekend in heavyweight boxing, am I right? Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are both stepping into the ring this weekend, but if you were hoping for the “Battle of Britain” to finally go down, get ready for disappointment. Seriously, these two giants haven’t even been seen in the same room together since Fury’s lackluster points victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov back in April. It feels like this fight should’ve happened ages ago, but boxing politics, retirements, injuries, contractual disputes, Netflix series, auntie’s weddings, dentist appointments, and even a night in on the sofa with a nice rom-com all got in the way. Unreal!
The Joshua-Fury Saga Continues Without the Main Event
So, here’s the deal: Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs) and Fury (35-2-1, 24 KOs) are fighting within 24 hours of each other, but not against each other. Both are in separate tune-ups designed to make them feel a little better about themselves afterward. On Friday, Fury takes on Mariusz Wach (39-13, 20 KOs) behind closed doors in Pattaya, Thailand. Then, Anthony Joshua locks horns with Kristian Prenga (20-1, 20 KOs), live on DAZN, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday night. These are the fights *before* the fight, the long-awaited collision course that’s taken more than a dozen detours at this point. You’d think Turki Alalshikh and all the big-money puppeteers would’ve had the main event signed, sealed, and delivered by now. But nope! We still don’t appear to have a date or a venue for Joshua vs. Fury. So, a head-to-head or official unveiling looks totally unlikely this weekend, even though this weekend was designed to do exactly that. That’s boxing for ya!
Spence Jr.’s Massive Comeback After Three Years Out
Meanwhile, another absolute warrior is making his comeback. Errol Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs) is making his return after three years out of the ring, and man, he’s not taking the easy road back. Spence heads Down Under this weekend, fighting the battle-hardened Tim Tszyu (27-3, 18 KOs) on away soil in Sydney on Saturday. This is comfortably the hardest fight to call of the entire weekend. We all know Spence hasn’t been the same fighter since his car crash in October 2019. He’s gone 2-1 since suffering those life-altering injuries, beating Danny Garcia and Yordenis Ugas, before eating that career-defining loss to Terence Crawford in 2023 for welterweight supremacy. That’s our last real in-ring memory of “The Truth.” Tszyu, who’s 31, has been to hell and back with Bakhram Murtazaliev and Sebastian Fundora over the past three years, going 3-3 since the start of 2024. Now, he’s up at middleweight for the third fight on the spin, trying to breathe new life into a career that’s threatening to go out with a whimper. Talk about high stakes!
So yeah, this weekend is loaded with boxing, but man, it’s also loaded with questions. Will Fury and Joshua finally get that “Battle of Britain” on the books, or are we just watching another chapter in their sitcom? And for Spence Jr., stepping back into the fire Down Under, this isn’t just a fight, it’s a statement about his whole career after that crash. You gotta watch these ones closely.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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