The all-British battle between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua has been snake bitten in recent years, but it appears 2025 will finally be the year the former heavyweight champions will engage in a bout.

On December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Fury lost for a second time this year to Oleksandr Usyk via decision. The Ring Magazine, WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBO champion Usyk has also beaten Anthony Joshua twice via decision in 2021 and 2022.

As Fury, 36, and Joshua, 35, look to rebuild themselves for perhaps another run for a heavyweight title, all roads will likely lead them toward each other over the next year.

"There is only one fight for Tyson Fury now, and that is Anthony Joshua,” Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn said after the fight. “That would be the biggest fight in British boxing history. Everyone wants to see it. Fury versus Joshua is the one now. It has to be the one. At Wembley [Stadium in London], a sold out crowd.”

In June 2020, Hearn said Fury and Joshua “agreed to the basics" of a deal to fight two times in 2021. But as Fury handled his side of business by beating Deontay Wilder in a trilogy at the time, Joshua suffered his first loss to Usyk, and the mega matchup was derailed.

Joshua rebuilt his career with four wins following the Usyk fights but again suffered a loss in September, this time in a one-sided destruction to Daniel Dubois.

The IBF belt holder Dubois also lost to Usyk via knockout and is now asking for his own rematch against the Ukrainian, leaving two of the remaining best heavyweights in the world on an open path to face each other.

Heading into the Usyk fight, Fury was the No. 1-ranked heavyweight by Ring Magazine, Joshua was No. 7.

"That was not a Tyson Fury who was finished or past his best," said Hearn, who scored the rematch against Usyk a draw. "That wasn't a flat performance. It wasn't a poor performance. "He didn't look gun shy. He didn't look like his punch resistance had dropped or was in question.

"I think Tyson is still at the peak of his powers. He just was not able to beat Oleksandr Usyk on the night. It doesn't mean he’s done. Fury will struggle with this defeat. All fighters do. AJ suffered the same after the Dubois defeat.

“You get beat. It hurts. This will hurt for a long time. He will be frustrated so much by this, having put so much into this to try and beat Usyk. He did everything right and still could not win.”