Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua came face to face for the first time as opponents on Wednesday at the British Airways ARC at Olympia in London, launching their December 11 fight at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium after a week in which the promotion nearly collapsed.
Turki Alalshikh, who funded the fight, addressed the venue fight directly and explained why Wembley fell through.
“I wanted this fight at Wembley,” Alalshikh said. “Tell the mayor and tell Dua Lipa. London would not let me have the stadium until 2am. In the end Wales delivered and the fight is still in the UK. It’s the country of Ryan Giggs. Let’s do it!”
He also had a suggestion for Fury: “I have one thing for Hollywood, that they give you the role as James Bond because it’s empty now.”
Fury did most of the talking, as expected.
“I think this is the biggest fight there’s ever been,” he said. “When I crack him on that jaw with a big right hand, he’s going to go down like a big sack of s***.”
“I’m going to come out and blast him out of there. It will be a gunfight at the OK Corral. It will be the best man that’s going to win. I’m not going to run away, I’m going to throw down. From what I’m seeing, I’m going to catch him and when I do, it’s going to be curtains.”
On the billing, which has been argued over since the poster dropped: “When I look behind me, I only see one Don and that’s Fury vs AJ. Now you’ve come to get the rent and I ain’t f***ing paying, because I’m number one. We’re going to walk out seeing Tyson Fury versus his opponent Anthony Joshua, an old dosser who works for me.”
And on Eddie Hearn: “I’m the boss. Know that. And Eddie don’t like that. He’s f***ing seething. I don’t mind Eddie, I’d go for a pint with him right now.”
He extended the offer to his opponent too. “I would go for a beer with you today. Same for you AJ. I hope we can have a pint of Guinness together after this fight. I don’t know if you’re a drinking man but I hope we can have a pint of Guinness together like men. Have a fight first then have a beer?”
The most striking passage came when Fury turned serious about the years the two men spent apart.
“During the time when AJ become world champion I was getting drunk and taking cocaine every week,” Fury said. “I wasn’t really concentrating on anyone other than my own wellbeing at that time. We’ve all had our own problems. All the banter and selling the show aside, this man is a two-time world champion, and Olympic gold medalist, he’s been a role model and a posterboy for British boxing for years.”
He addressed the decade of near misses head on. “It’s been ten years in the making. We’ve both had our ups and downs and we’ve arrived at this moment. Is it f*** too late. It’s the icing on the cake of two great careers to throw down in front of 80,000 people. We’re going out swinging.”
Joshua was calmer throughout, and framed the fight around what it means at home.
“I know in pubs people have had proper fights about who is going to win out of me and Tyson,” he said. “I know family members have fallen out. I know we’re going to inspire this generation and the next.”
On his approach: “There’s strategy then there’s passion. I’ve just got to be 15-round fit and do it the old school way. And just do my part in the fight to make it great. I’ll be a good dance partner and we’ll give our best.” He added: “I’m willing to take and take punch after punch and keep moving forward until my hand is raised.”
Asked about Fury’s abuse, Joshua welcomed it. “This is the energy that I want. There’s nothing else I expect from this man. This is what will keep me doing the extra rounds in the gym. I want to perform to prove to myself that what he says is not possible.”
The old sparring sessions between the two, long a point of dispute, came up again. Fury’s version: “AJ was in that ring, he knows what happened. He sparred three or four rounds and then he got out and I sparred his mate. There was also thing about a Rolex watch. If anyone could drop me, they would get a Rolex watch. Guess what, I left that building with a Rolex on.”
Joshua’s version: “He left the ring with his Rolex watch, but he also left it with a black eye. Sparring is sparring, and he knows that. Sparring is meant to be kept in the gym. It’s all about fight night now.”
Hearn, who spent the week publicly at war with the event’s other promoters, struck a conciliatory note with the man funding it.
“Turki, I know we might have fallen out, I promise you on December 11 this will be the greatest night you’ve ever had,” Hearn said. “On a serious note, you’ve envisaged this night for British boxing. AJ has changed the face of boxing in this country and so has Tyson Fury. We’re the envy of the boxing world.” He promised “f***ing war” on December 11.
Frank Warren agreed. “It’s gonna be war. This is going to be sensational. You are going to be entertained. We’re going to see something special on the 11th. Who’s going to become the three-time world champion. It’s going to be more than war, there’s pride at stake.”
Fury closed on what the night means to him. “When two men go toe-to-toe and knock the f*** out of each other, there’s no ranking involved. Every fight is as important as the next one. When I fight AJ that will be the most important fight of my life.”
Dana White, whose promotional role nearly derailed the event, did not attend. He said Tuesday night in Las Vegas that he would have been there had he not been hosting Contender Series, and that the week’s delay was “a total ego thing.” His role in the promotion was not addressed from the stage.
Fury vs. Joshua takes place Friday, December 11 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, live on Netflix, with the vacant WBA “super” heavyweight title on the line.
