Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will finally fight on Friday, December 11 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, live on Netflix, ending a saga that has consumed boxing for the better part of two months and a matchup that has been discussed for the better part of a decade.

The announcement came jointly Thursday from The Ring owner Turki Alalshikh and Netflix. Alalshikh posted: “For 15 years no one has been able to make this fight. Back in April, I said that any announcement would come from me. I can now confirm that Fury Vs Joshua will be coming to the UK, as I promised British boxing fans. The time for talking is over.” He followed with the details: “Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua. Years in the making. One night to settle it.” Netflix put it more bluntly: “Enough talk. Time to fight.”

The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds with no world title on the line.

A press conference is set for Tuesday, September 30 at British Airways Arc in London, according to a media alert issued by The Ring and Netflix, with media accreditation applications closing at noon on Monday, September 29.

In the announcement, Alalshikh said: “Two of the best heavyweights of this generation, finally in the ring together. This will be one of the biggest fights in boxing history, I am very happy to make this fight happen for the fans.” Dana White, named in the release as co-promoting alongside The Ring, said: “For more than a decade, boxing fans have been clamoring for the heavyweight showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.”

White’s involvement is already disputed. Eddie Hearn spent much of September insisting Joshua’s contract barred White, Zuffa Boxing and TKO from any involvement, and he rejected the release language within minutes of it going out.

On the start time, BoxingScene reports ring walks are expected after midnight, with 1am the reported time for the opening bell in Britain, putting the main event in American prime time. Hearn said last week it was unlikely to be a “3am fight.”

Cardiff was not where this started. Joshua signed for a UK venue, Fury’s paperwork pointed elsewhere, and Sela and Netflix spent weeks pushing for Madison Square Garden on November 20. Wembley was the original plan and fell away over a curfew that could not be extended far enough. The Principality has a retractable roof, a capacity near 80,000, and a history of extending its curfew, having hosted Joe Calzaghe against Mikkel Kessler in the early hours in 2007. Joshua has fought there twice, stopping Carlos Takam in 2017 and outpointing Joseph Parker in 2018.

There is deeper history in the choice. The last all-British heavyweight fight of this magnitude staged in the UK was Lennox Lewis against Frank Bruno in 1993, at the National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park, on the ground where the Principality now stands.

The undercard is not set. BoxingScene reported this week that Netflix wants Manny Pacquiao against Shakur Stevenson as a second main event on the same show, with no bout agreements delivered to either fighter yet.

The billing itself is worth watching. The poster reads Fury vs. Joshua, which raises questions over who ring walks first, who is announced first, and who gets the home dressing room. All three have already been argued over.

Joshua carries a record of 30-4 with 27 knockouts and turns 37 in October. Fury is 36-2-1 with 25 stoppages at 38. Neither man holds a world title, and both are past the version of themselves that made this fight the biggest in British boxing a decade ago. It is still the fight the sport has spent fifteen years failing to make.

Seventy-eight days to go.