By FN Sports Desk<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The long\u2011anticipated heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury is closer than ever, with multiple reports indicating both fighters are being positioned for a blockbuster clash in 2026. While no deal has been finalized, momentum is building behind what would be one of the biggest events in modern boxing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to ESPN, both camps are \u201cworking towards making it happen\u201d as part of Riyadh Season, with growing confidence that the fight will finally materialize after years of stalled negotiations and near\u2011misses. The plan calls for Joshua and Fury to compete in separate bouts early in 2026, with the superfight targeted for later in the year\u2014likely the second half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yahoo Sports reports that the matchup is being eyed for September 2026, contingent on both men winning their respective tune\u2011up fights earlier in the year. It would mark the first meeting between the two former heavyweight champions, who came close to fighting in 2021 before the deal collapsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fury, who has retired and unretired multiple times, remains the betting favorite. William Hill lists the \u201cGypsy King\u201d at 4\/7, with Joshua at 6\/4, reflecting Fury\u2019s size, ring IQ, and track record in high\u2011pressure fights. A draw sits at 14\/1, and all bets are refunded if the fight does not occur in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joshua, meanwhile, is rebuilding after a turbulent stretch that included a 2024 loss to Daniel Dubois. Sporting News notes that his team is already looking beyond his upcoming bout with Jake Paul, signaling confidence that Joshua remains a major player in the division heading into 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the fight is finalized, it would be the most significant all\u2011British heavyweight clash in decades\u2014pitting Fury\u2019s awkward, tactical brilliance against Joshua\u2019s explosive power and athleticism. For now, fans will have to wait for both men to clear their early\u2011year assignments before the sport can finally deliver the matchup it has teased for nearly half a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By FN Sports Desk The long\u2011anticipated heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury is closer than ever, with multiple reports indicating both fighters are being positioned for a blockbuster clash in 2026. While no deal has been finalized, momentum is building behind what would be one of the biggest events in modern boxing. According […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,3,7],"tags":[2626,2627,2625,3016],"class_list":["post-25665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-international","category-naija-news","category-sports","tag-anthony-joshua","tag-boxing","tag-jake-paul","tag-tyson-fury"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Anthony-Joshua-I.jpg?fit=811%2C952&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25665"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25666,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25665\/revisions\/25666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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