Fury and Joshua move closer to long-trailed $100m November clash

British heavyweights Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua return to the ring this weekend, each scheduled to face low-risk opponents as part of the build-up to their long-trailed meeting. The pair remain on course for a showdown that promoters expect will generate much more than $100m in November.

Fury has managed one win in the past two years and nine months, while Joshua's record shows a solitary victory over the last two years and four months. Fury outpointed Arslanbek Makhmudov, the lumbering Russian heavyweight, in April. Joshua laboured through five torpid rounds before he finally cut loose and broke the jaw of Jake Paul, the former YouTuber, in December.

Their recent victories are set against a string of high-profile defeats that have lingered in public memory. Fury suffered two losses to Oleksandr Usyk, in May and December 2024. Joshua was knocked down four times and then stopped by Daniel Dubois inside five humiliating rounds in September 2024.

Both fighters have endured turbulent periods outside the ring. Fury's career has been punctuated by another retirement announced in January 2025, while Joshua has experienced a traumatic spell of inactivity. Yet each has returned to competitive action, choosing cautious opponents this weekend as part of a carefully managed route back to a bigger event.

The planned Fury–Joshua meeting has been long discussed and delayed, and this latest sequence of tune-up bouts is intended to keep momentum toward that goal. Promoters and matchmakers have focused on minimising risk for both men while preserving their profiles ahead of the marquee clash. The two heavyweights remain marketable despite recent setbacks and interruptions to their careers.

Interest in a UK-headlined heavyweight event involving Fury and Joshua has not waned, with commercial projections for a November date signalling a substantial financial prize. The fight, when it happens, is being portrayed as a major commercial opportunity for boxing and for both men.

Both fighters returning to activity this weekend represents another step on a path that, should it proceed as planned, will culminate in their much-anticipated meeting in November that is expected to generate much more than $100m.