When Tyson Fury was asked whether his fight against Anthony Joshua had come too late for both boxers, the Gypsy King responded: “Is it too late?…
asserted
it → ask → boxers
It’s the icing on the cake of two great careers.”
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It → ’ → careers
Former heavyweight world champions Fury and Joshua came face to face in London on Wednesday to allay months-long fears and rumours surrounding their long-awaited fight, which has been confirmed for December 11 in Cardiff.
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which → come → Cardiff
The British boxing stars are 38 and 36 years old, respectively, and have kept the boxing world waiting for years.
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stars → keep → years
For many fans, why it took so long to agree on a fight is almost as big a question as who will win.
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who → take → fight
Neither boxer wanted to take the hit for delaying the biggest fight in British boxing history when they appeared in front of the media in London.
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they → want → London
Fury blamed Joshua, despite reports stating Joshua insisted the fight take place in the United Kingdom for the sake of home fans.
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fight → blame → fans
“You’ve been crying behind the scenes to get out of this fight,” Fury said.
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Fury → cry → fight
“I’ve checkmated you.
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I → checkmate → you
You have to fight.
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You → have → ?
I’ve said I’ll fight anywhere.”
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I → say → ?
Can Fury vs Joshua live up to more than 10 years of hype?
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Fury → live → hype
Al Jazeera Sport breaks it down:
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Sport → break → it
Ten years of near misses
Joshua and Fury are prizefighters who decide their destiny in the ring, but outside of it, their promoters negotiate contracts, choose venues and make calls on top billing.
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promoters → decide → billing
The history goes back 10 years and is full of near misses, contractual problems and other fighters entering the fray.
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history → go → fray
It all started in 2020, when the two camps agreed to a two-fight deal.
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camps → start → deal
A year later, contracts were signed for an undisputed heavyweight showdown.
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contracts → sign → showdown
However, Deontay Wilder, an American former world heavyweight champion, won an arbitration case that forced Fury into a trilogy fight in 2021.
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that → win → 2021
In 2022, Joshua reportedly accepted a 60-40 purse split in Fury’s favour, but that deal collapsed too.
uncertain
deal → accept → favour
During this period, unbeaten Ukrainian heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk defeated Joshua twice and proceeded to beat Fury twice as well.
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Usyk → defeat → Fury
All this while, Fury vs Joshua failed to materialise.
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Fury → fail → Joshua
Eddie Hearn vs Dana White
Online streaming platform Netflix, which holds global rights to the fight, has billed it as a collaboration between Saudi sports powerbroker Turki Alshikh’s The Ring magazine and Dana White, the owner of mixed martial arts promotion UFC.
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which → hold → UFC
Neither Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, nor Fury’s, Frank Warren, was named when talks of the fight resurfaced earlier this year.
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talks → name → fight
Alshikh and White cofounded a boxing promotion, Zuffa Boxing, which was launched earlier this year and became a point of contention in the Joshua-Fury fight.
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which → cofounde → fight
Hearn was of the view that Joshua’s contract barred White and Zuffa’s parent company from any promotional role.
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contract → bar → role
“Dana White cannot be involved with this fight promotion,” Hearn said recently.
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Hearn → involve → promotion
However, Fury saw it differently and blamed Hearn for costing “the biggest fight in boxing history” in an Instagram post.
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Fury → see → post
White was not seen at the London news conference, where fans booed his name.
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fans → see → name
A battle of egos
In boxing, the name that comes first on the poster usually signals the A-side, or the bigger fighter.
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that → come → side
Joshua claimed he got a call asking whether he minded Fury’s name going first, because Fury was “unwilling to sign unless he does”.
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he → claim → call
Fury boasted: “I’m number one.”
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I → boast → ?
Joshua insisted he ensured it would happen in the UK, whereas White had pushed for it to be held at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“I know we are going to inspire this generation, and I know for a fact we are going to inspire the next generation,” Joshua said.
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Joshua → insist → generation
The niceties didn’t last long between the opponents as Fury claimed he would knock Joshua out.
“I’m going to catch him and, when I do, it’s going to be curtains,” Fury said.
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Fury → last → him
Joshua welcomed the outburst and said: “This is the energy that we want.”
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we → welcome → that
In the end, money got the deal over the line.
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money → get → line
Reports in UK media say the fighters will share a $200m purse and will bag more than “any British fighter has earned in a fight ever”.
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fighter → say → fight
The Aporia
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