ANTHONY JOSHUA, TYSON FURY FINALLY SET FOR BLOCKBUSTER HEAVYWEIGHT CLASH

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are finally set to settle their long-running rivalry in the ring, with the two British heavyweight giants scheduled to clash at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11.

The highly anticipated all-British showdown, reported by BBC Sport, brings together two of the biggest names in heavyweight boxing after both fighters secured victories in their respective comeback bouts in July.

Fury, 37, stopped 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in the seventh round in Pattaya, Thailand, in a low-profile contest watched by about 1,500 spectators and not broadcast live on television.

Joshua, 36, faced a far more dramatic challenge in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, when he was knocked down twice in the opening round by Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga. The former world champion recovered from the early setbacks and stopped Prenga in the second round.

The fight marked Joshua’s first appearance since a car crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of his close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.

Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, had previously indicated a preference for Wembley Stadium as the venue. However, an agreement with the Saudi organisers financing the event requires the fight to be staged in Britain, with any move to the United States requiring a renegotiation of the deal.

Hearn has described the Fury clash as one of the most important fights of Joshua’s career.

Speaking after Pat Brown defeated John Hedges on September 19, Hearn said Joshua’s “whole career comes down to this” fight, adding that he had “never wanted to win a fight so badly.”

After years of negotiations, failed talks and mounting speculation, Joshua and Fury will finally share the ring in what promises to be one of the biggest British heavyweight contests in recent years.