Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua engaged in a series of good-natured exchanges as the countdown started on their ‘Battle of Britain’ clash in Cardiff on December 11 (December 12 Australia time).
Sharing a stage for the first time at the fight’s launch press conference in west London, the rivals stayed respectful throughout with Fury even suggesting to Joshua that they meet for a “pint of Guinness” once they had finished in the ring.
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Joshua was wary of the invitation because of Fury’s history of playing mind games, declaring with a smile that “I don’t know if I can trust you”.
The hour-long event watched by a crowd of 1,000 lacked the acrimony of the negotiations between promoters to arrange the biggest fight in British boxing history and even when they faced off they looked far from the bitter foes who have vied for national supremacy for over a decade.
It was a face-off British boxing has been waiting years to see. The pair have spent much of their careers circling each other as world champions, with the question of who would win dividing fans long before a deal was finally done.
At various points, the fight looked close, only for negotiations, rival commitments and the timing of their careers to get in the way.
Fury chatted away at Joshua as they held eye contact before the Olympic gold medallist ended the exchange by tickling his opponent in the midriff.
Questions were invited from fans in attendance and Joshua called for a minute’s silence for “fallen soldiers”, including Ricky Hatton, but the evening was all about the boxers who dominated the talking.
While making the odd dig, Fury was also happy to laugh at himself as they each spoke as fighters knowing the finishing line in sight.
Fury said: “I stand here today as the most awkwardly built world heavyweight champion in the history of sport.
“I’m bald, fat, bearded, ugly, slow, ponderous – all of the above. But at the end of the day, I get s*** done.
“And then you’ve got this guy here, who’s carved in stone like an Olympian, made out of marble. But every time he gets tapped on the jaw he falls over!
“So builds don’t really mean anything. This man’s built like an Adonis, I’m built like a blancmange.
“But what I always say is you can’t put muscles on a tash and when I crack him on that jaw with the right hand, he’s going to go down like a stack of s***.
“People say this fight is too late. Is it f*** too late. It’s the icing on the cake for two great careers when we throw down in front of 80,000 people. May the best man win.”
Other talking points were a disputed sparring session that took place when Joshua was still an amateur and Fury a rookie professional and the behind-the-scenes wrangling over whose name should go first in the promotion.
Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn fought hard to have the fight staged in the UK while Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi boxing powerbroker providing the finances, pushed for New York once he realised Wembley was not an option.
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Joshua said: “It’s breathtaking and I’m not saying that lightly. I’m really grateful for this opportunity to bring it to Great Britain because I know people in pubs have had proper fights about who will win between us. Family members have fallen out over it.
“We’ll inspire this generation and the next generation. I’m fulfilling my destiny before I depart this world.”
This story first appeared on DAZN News and is republished with permission.