Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua is still viewed as the “biggest heavyweight fight in the world”, according to Top Rank President Todd DuBoef.
In 2021 the pair were close to agreeing to terms for a British showdown. However, Deontay Wilder took legal action and won in court to secure a third fight with Fury. In 2022 the pair were involved in negotiations again for a proposed fight in December. Furthermore, terms could not be agreed upon, and ultimately Fury would fight Derek Chisora.
Joshua is looking for a triumphant return to action against Jermaine Franklin at the O2 Arena, London following back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.
DuBoef of Top Rank, who co-promoted Fury alongside Frank Warren, would love to see Tyson defend his WBC world heavyweight title against his fellow countryman.
“I’ve always said that is the fight,” DuBoef told Sky Sports. “Both of them have great brands, huge fanbases, and fortunately, both of them come from the UK, so it’s wonderful that your country has been able to produce these incredible prizefighters.
“That fight is always there, and, to me, is the biggest heavyweight match in the world because of the personalities and the stories.”
Fury, Usyk and both fighters’ promotional and management teams have been negotiating for some time. Those talks ultimately fell apart because both sides could not agree on monetary terms regarding a possible rematch.
“The frustration is for all of us,” said DuBoef. “All of us are frustrated, right? And I think timing has been an issue with trying to make this fight happen. I’m not going to say never, but I think we all want to see this unification, and we all have hope.
“But there was a timeline set up, and it just got ahead of everybody and became very tight. Fortunately, there’s always hope and an opportunity because I think both fighters really know that this is what the sport wants, and what they want. So, motivation is there, timing was more of the issue on this.”