Now that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have completed their respective warm-up fights – albeit with varying degrees of difficulty – the stage finally appears set for their heavyweight dustup.
Tragically, they did not collide in 2021, back when the particulars of their match had seemingly been agreed before an arbitration judge, of all people, decided that Fury must honour his trilogy clash with Deontay Wilder.
‘AJ’ then ended up losing a unanimous decision to Oleksandr Usyk, with whom he now shares a gym, while ‘The Gypsy King’ defeated Wilder by 11th-round stoppage.
Since then, a lot has changed. Yet could it be that their Battle of Britain is now more of a 50/50 matchup than ever before?
Most would have favoured Fury in 2021, based largely on his destructive seventh-round finish over Wilder the previous year.
And still, many will remain unconvinced by Joshua’s punch resistance after he was twice floored in the opening round against Kristian Prenga.
Indeed, it seemed as if disaster was about to strike on Saturday evening. But could it be that the Londoner was always bound to face some measure of adversity?
While Prenga, on paper, was far removed from his level, the 36-year-old nonetheless needed to overcome the physical and psychological scars of losing his two close friends to a car crash in December.
And despite a nightmare three minutes, Joshua did show that he remains a formidable puncher by ultimately securing a second-round finish in Saudi Arabia.
That, alone, could prove significant enough to defeat Fury, who, based on his last two performances, is a far cry from the elusive mover of old.
He did, in fairness, defeat both Arslanbek Makhmudov and Mariusz Wach in dominant fashion, yet those respective points and stoppage victories were surely a little one-paced for his usual standards.
Even against the 46-year-old Wach, who he stopped in seven rounds on Friday, Fury appeared far more hittable than he did, say, in his rematch with Wilder.
It is only natural, of course, that the 37-year-old has lost a step or two, with his body simply refusing to generate the same speed it was once known for.
But as a fighter whose style relies mostly on mobility and fast-twitch reflexes, it remains to be seen whether Fury can effectively utilise his physical advantages against Joshua, who will likely be licking his lips after seeing Wach land the odd right hand in Thailand.
It is worth considering, too, that ‘AJ’ has access to the training team that devised two successful game plans against his domestic rival in 2024.
Clearly, Joshua possesses a drastically different style and skillset to Usyk, who outpointed Fury on two occasions to become the undisputed heavyweight king.
But with the Ukrainian having benefited from a largely data-driven approach, surely Joshua can develop a strategy which, while playing more to his strengths, is similarly effective in the context of tackling a 6ft 9in switch-hitter.
This is something his training team will be confident in achieving, even if the tactics must focus more on the art of a knockout than a 12-round masterclass.
Joshua, after all, is unlikely to outbox Fury for 36 minutes, whereas an inside-the-distance triumph is most certainly on the cards.
Fury may look to make himself a nuisance by switching between the orthodox and southpaw stances. But eventually, Joshua should manage to connect with a meaningful shot, putting his opponent’s renowned powers of recovery to the test.
Equally, though, there is a genuine possibility that Joshua must show some mettle of his own. And, unlike Prenga, Fury is not the type to crawl into his shell after getting his man hurt.
