LONDON — The screens read “FINALLY.” The pyrotechnics went off. The room was loud before either heavyweight said a word. Then Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua shared a stage for the first time to promote the fight, and a bout that was reportedly in jeopardy just days ago suddenly felt real.
Fury (36-2-1, 25 KOs) and Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) met at Olympia on Wednesday for a press conference hosted by Netflix, The Ring and Ring Magazine owner Turki Alalshikh, formally kicking off the road to their Dec. 11 showdown at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. The fight will stream live globally, only on Netflix.
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Pyrotechnics and a crowd of phone-wielding fans surround Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua on stage at Olympia in London on Wednesday.
Max Kellerman hosted, with Ring Magazine CEO Rick Reeno alongside him, and the presentation left no doubt about the goal. Everyone involved wants this to be the biggest boxing event ever. Alalshikh stepped between the two fighters holding up a belt bearing The Battle of Britain name, a moment built for the cameras, and said he has a wish list in boxing he wants to deliver. “Please help me to deliver it, for the fans, for the fighters,” he said.
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Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua face-off as Ring Magazine owner Turki Alalshikh raises The Battle of Britain belt between them at Olympia in London on Wednesday.
Fury was happy to sell it. “It’s been 10 years in the making; the rise has been phenomenal from both fighters,” he said, adding that getting to throw down in front of 80,000 people is the payoff.
The Gypsy King was not shy about the scale of it, either. “I think this is the biggest boxing match that’s ever been. Ever,” Fury said, pointing to commercial scale and viewing figures. “As a boxing fan, this is the one I would want to see more than any other fight in the world today.” He even predicted tickets would sell out in about 39 seconds.
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Tyson Fury shouts back with the crowd during Wednesday's press conference at Olympia in London.
Fury's game plan sounded simple. “I’m going to come out and gun him out of there. I’m not going to run away, I’m going to throw down.”
Joshua was more measured, but he did not back down from the talk. “10 years in the making. We’re here now. I’ve been keeping my head down, and it had to happen,” he said. Then he turned to what he expects from the man next to him. “There’s nothing else I expect from him than to say he’s going to render me unconscious. But this is what’s going to keep me running. This is what’s going to make me do the extra rounds in the gym, because I want to prove to myself that what he’s saying is not possible.”
He also had a prediction of his own, and it was easily the sharpest line of the day. “Within ten rounds, I’ll f*** him up,” Joshua said.
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Anthony Joshua gestures toward Tyson Fury during Wednesday's press conference at Olympia in London.
The lighter moment came when Joshua recalled an old sparring session between the two with a Rolex on the line. “He left the room with a Rolex watch, but he also left the room with a black eye,” he said. Joshua also called it breathtaking to have the fight in the UK and said he knows the two of them will inspire this generation and the next.
That mix of needle and respect defined the tone in London. The two went back and forth at times, but it was a mild spat between fighters who know each other, not a feud, and the room felt more restrained than the hype around it.
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Tyson Fury, left, and Anthony Joshua, right, sit on either side of host Max Kellerman during Wednesday's press conference at Olympia in London.
It is also hard to ignore the timing. Fury is 38 and Joshua is 36, and plenty of fans will say this fight is years too late. At their peaks, it would have been the biggest fight in boxing. Not everyone was part of the moment, either. Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter at Matchroom Boxing, was on stage helping sell the fight. UFC and Zuffa Boxing CEO Dana White, who has a history of public spats with Hearn, said at his Contender Series press conference Tuesday that he would not be attending, despite being named by Alalshikh as a partner in making this happen alongside TKO's Nick Khan. It is a small detail, but it is hard to miss in a week when this fight was reportedly in jeopardy.
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Matchroom Sport Chairman Eddie Hearn and Ring Magazine CEO Rick Reeno speak on stage at Wednesday's press conference for Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua on December 11 in Cardiff, Wales.
Now everyone has a job to do. Netflix has to deliver on the broadcast. The Ring and Alalshikh have to deliver on the full card around the main event. Most of all, Fury and Joshua have to give fans a fight that makes the wait feel worth it. The pyrotechnics, the belt and the big talk will be forgotten quickly if the fight itself does not deliver.
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Tyson Fury, left, and Anthony Joshua, right, pose with raised fists during Wednesday's press conference at Olympia in London.
Fury put the mood in his own words. “Let the best man win and let’s go out swinging,” he said. Dec. 11 in Cardiff is when we find out if it was worth the wait.