Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have agreed to fight on December 11 at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, ending a long delay over the venue for their historic all-British heavyweight clash. The former world champions have been long-term rivals. The confirmation came on Thursday, September 24, 2026.
Johnny Nelson, a former cruiserweight world champion, said Joshua will be in "a world of trouble" against Fury if he performs as he did in his last fight. That fight was in July, when Joshua was knocked down twice in the opening round against Kristian Prenga before stopping him in the second. It was Joshua's first bout since surviving a car crash in December 2025 that killed his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif 'Latz' Adodele.
Nelson told Sky Sports News: "Well mentally, remember almost a year ago, AJ was involved in a horrific accident. That's a lot to get over and get his head around. Hopefully, he's in a great space with that. His last fight didn't represent him very well. If you're going on his last fight, he's in a world of trouble."
Fury, who took time out after two defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, has returned this year with comfortable wins over Arslanbek Makhmudov and Mariusz Wach. Nelson said: "You look at Tyson Fury, his last fight was underwhelming but it wasn't worrying. So, the stages they're at, if you're going by their last fights, the one that's in a better condition I'd say would be Tyson Fury, because his last fight read better than AJ's last fight."
Nelson believes Joshua, with a record of 30-4, has declined more than Fury, who stands at 36-2-1, because Joshua relies more on his athleticism. "Without a doubt, Joshua is explosive," Nelson said. "You saw the fights when he boxed people like Francis Ngannou, took them out cold. Tyson Fury, we've seen him box and knock people out. We've seen him go the distance. We've seen that slow burn and him winning a fight. With AJ, it just seems that he stands out more for the knockouts than his boxing ability, even though he does have boxing ability. Whereas Tyson Fury, it wouldn't surprise you if he boxes his way around the ring for 12 rounds because he has that ability."
