After all the talking and hullabaloo, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua finally came face-to-face on Wednesday evening.
The British heavyweights attended a special press conference in London in the build-up to their much-anticipated super-fight in Cardiff on December 11. Often, these events involve trash talking and stunts aimed at ramping up the anticipation towards a fight. Here, there was not much of that.
Each man knows that they need to do little to sell this one. The appetite is already there in bundles and a sell-out crowd will be in attendance on the night, with millions around the world set to watch it unfold on Netflix – one of many big-money tie-ups associated with what’s being billed as the biggest fight in British boxing history.
After months of uncertainty – as recently as last month it was suggested that talks may have broken down – the presence of both Fury and Joshua within close proximity to each other effectively ended any lingering fears.
Both were on good form and there was even pleasantries and jokes.
Fury spoke glowingly of his opposite number – “I mostly find myself defending my arch rival to fans in the street.” – whilst Joshua continued the love-in, saying: “I’m really grateful for this opportunity and bringing it to Great Britain because I know people in pubs have had proper fights about who will win and family members have fallen out.”
Even the face-off, often the moment where fighters get into game mode, was light-hearted with Joshua pretend tickling Fury’s stomach much to the amusement of each man.
Probably the most hostile it got was Fury’s declaration that “when I crack him on the jaw with a big right hand, he’s going down.”
To that, Joshua’s response was to laugh and retort with Fury’s own catchphrase: “Get up.”
There are still more than two months to go before fight night, meaning ample time for this rivalry to go up a few notches more.
The niceties that were on display in their first meeting are unlikely to last long.
