in

Anthony Joshua on brink of £500million two-fight mega deal with Tyson Fury – but must survive Daniel Dubois test first


ANTHONY JOSHUA is one win away from a potential HALF-A-BILLION-POUND Tyson Fury two-fight mega deal.

Victory for Watford’s 34-year-old Olympic legend, over Daniel Dubois tonight at a 96,000 sell-out Wembley, will make him the hottest ticket in boxing.

Anthony Joshua is a throw’s stone away from fighting Tyson Fury
But must beat Daniel Dubois at Wembley on Saturday
Fury himself must avoid back-to-back defeats to Usyk in their December rematch

And – as long as Fury isn’t violently knocked out and injured in the Oleksandr Usyk rematch on December 21 – the wheels are already in motion for FINALLY making the fight everyone in England wants to see.

Our AJ may dream of getting one back on the 37-year-old Ukraine icon who dominated him twice to snatch away his WBA, IBF and WBO belts.

And a win over 27-year-old Dubois – with bright young trainer Ben Davison – would rightly make him a confident boost about a shot of revenge

But outside of Team AJ and cheerleader Eddie Hearn – there is no clamour at all to see Joshua vs Usyk 3 – especially when the best he can do is drag it back to 2-1 against a man who would be pushing 40 with four kids indoors to worry about.

READ MORE AJ V DUBOIS

For all of AJ’s incredible success and downright decency – London 2012’s legacy, his singlehanded revolution of British boxing, and saving of hundreds of local gyms with personal donations in lockdown, when the Government left the sport to die – it is a stain on his record that he never faced a peak and and undefeated Fury or Deontay Wilder.

He has been the golden goose and the cash cow in a sport that is usually a bit of a pigsty – his status as a British sport legend is cemented for eternity.

But across the Pond in America – which will return as the boxing Mecca when Saudi get bored or achieve their goal with funding fights – he is seen as a dud.

Most read in Boxing

The violent knockout loss on his one and only trip to the Big Apple, left a bitter taste over there and snatching a win back over Usyk will not help his reputation outside of his diehard fans.

BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS

AJ will challenge interim title holder Dubois for the IBF world heavyweight beltCredit: Reuters

ANTHONY JOSHUA VS DANIEL DUBOIS: All the information you need ahead of huge world title fight at Wembley

But taking on Fury – in what would most likely be a two-fight deal with the opener in Riyadh and the return leg in England – might charm any of his remaining critics and doubters.

The great men from previous eras – that AJ studies and admires – did all face their finest rivals, some – like George Foreman and Larry Holmes – even across generations.

Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois face off one final time before contesting for the World Heavyweight Championship

But if he hangs up his gloves with the Gypsy King and Wilder on his record, then people will have the right to frown when his name is mentioned among the pantheon of greats.

But two great Fury fights – each likely to do around 2m pay-per-view sales at a guess of £30-a-pop – with one likely to sell out a 100,000 seater UK stadium at an average of maybe £500 a ticket – would be a spectacle right up there with the Fight of the Century, Thrilla in Manilla and Rumble in the Jungle.

The world will stop to watch the build-up – let alone the fight.

Imagine the antics John Fury would get up to, what Team Fury’s Brady Bunch of brothers and pals would say to AJ and his boardroom brotherhood.

The brilliant old stories will be dragged up.

The 2010 sparring session at Finchley where rising pro Fury offered his Rolex watch to any man who could floor him and an uppercut from the reformed bad-boy bricklayer almost clocked him.

The fight was almost made twice but collapsed over money and ego.

Joshua vs Dubois fight predictions

THIS weekend Wembley will witness one of the biggest all-British fights of all-time.

But who will emerge victorious under the famous arch? Some of the biggest names in boxing have been having their say…

Oleksandr Usyk: “My favourite is Anthony Joshua but I am very bad at predictions. But I will predict Anthony Joshua.”

Dillian Whyte: “I just think that it’s one of those fights where it is a genuine 50/50 fight in my opinion.”

Joe Joyce: “I was initially edging with Joshua but I don’t know, Dubois is coming on.”

Frazer Clarke: “As heavy-handed as Dubois is and as good a fighter as he’s becoming, I still have to go for Joshua.”

Francis Ngannou: “Even though Joshua lost against Usyk twice and Dubois fought Usyk and almost knocked him down and almost won, I would still give this to Joshua.”

Click here for more fight predictions for Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois

AJ watch Fury’s defeat to Usyk sat alongside Cristiano Ronaldo

The bizarre time they bumped into each other in Marbella and – despite all his tirades and taunting – Fury was polite to his verbals victim.

Us hacks will definitely drag up the hilarious times Fury would video call Joshua totally unannounced and wind him up.

Carl Froch will back Fury and say Joshua is useless, John Fury will offer Froch a fight.

Wladimir Klitschko will land back on the scene and support Joshua.

It would be magnificent, hilarious, historic, slapstick, tense, dark and drenched in Saudi slush funds.

And every man, woman, child and dog and duck will want to be there – the trendies who reckons Oasis were never that good – might pretend they don’t care.

READ MORE SUN STORIES

But the PPV sales and the ticket revenue and the sponsorship deals and the broadcast offers will not.

Joshua versus Fury in the Spring of 2025 will kickstart the filthiest richest fight of the modern era – AJ just has to survive Dynamite Dan to light the fuse.

AJ vs Dubois: Build up to the big fight

ANTHONY JOSHUA and Daniel Dubois go head-to-head at Wembley THIS Saturday.

Ahead of the all-British heavyweight showdown, here’s all the biggest stories and need-to-know information…


Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk


Tagcloud:

Gary Neville brutally warns Arsenal what they must do to avoid being ‘dismissed as nearly men’ and being forgotten about

Daniel Dubois out to steal Anthony Joshua’s thunder as he forecasts night of glory at Wembley