Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua must rebuild their careers following their share of losses in 2025, and all roads look like they should be crossing each other in the coming months.
After resurrecting his career with four straight wins following a pair of losses to Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) returned to the loss column in September, getting knocked out by Daniel Dubois inside five rounds.
Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) didn’t fare much better against Usyk, losing a pair of spirited decisions in 2024 to The Ring Magazine, WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion.
The long-planned, all-British battle between the former heavyweight champions now appears to be a formality.
"2025, I am targeting Tyson Fury," Joshua said during a recent trip to meet Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
"When I look back, I believe I could have done more in 2024. I have another chance in 2025 to do more and I am going to make sure I take every opportunity that comes my way.”
Joshua, 35, and Fury, 36, also don’t have the luxury of letting the fight sit at the negotiation table much longer.
“Ups and downs, they happen,” said Joshua. “To some people, it is always up. My life is up and down, so I have got to get used to the turbulent times and keep riding the wave. I can’t stop now. I have to keep going until I reach my destination.”
Joshua has made his goals clear moving forward – retirement talks are out the door as he goes all in on trying to become a three-time heavyweight champion.
"I should have won [against Dubois] but I didn't and I am going to go again,” said Joshua. “[It] makes me hungry, makes me want to work harder. Time is of the essence, time is limited, so I just want to put in more work.”
Manouk Akopyan is a lead writer for Ring Magazine. Follow him on X and Instagram.