Sport

Anthony Joshua backed to make fight with Tyson Fury in Cardiff ‘his day’

02 Oct 2026 3 minute read

Tyson Fury by Mike DiDomizio licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and “Anthony Joshua Press Conference” by JazzyJoeyD licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

George Sessions, Press Association

A “chilled” Anthony Joshua has been backed to make the eagerly-anticipated bout with British rival Tyson Fury in Cardiff “his day” by Matchroom president Barry Hearn.

Former world heavyweight champions Joshua and Fury will bring a decade-long saga to an end on December 11 when they step out at Principality Stadium in Wales for one of the biggest fights in boxing history.

Hearn, 78, has watched the rise of Joshua with the help of son and Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn at close quarters, with the Finchley amateur going from an Olympic gold medallist in 2012 to two-time world champion before recent painful defeats to Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois.

During an up-and-down twilight period of Joshua’s career, the motivation and reasons to continue for the 36-year-old have been questioned.

However, Hearn believes Joshua, who lost close friends Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele in a car crash in Nigeria at the end of 2025, will feel his last rites in the sport are to win this grudge match.

Hearn told Press Association: “AJ, obviously he’s made his money, he’s created his own brand, he’s been a fantastic asset to British and world boxing in terms of inspiration for other kids to follow his footsteps, but now this is his day.

“He’s decided for a variety of reasons, obviously he’s had a huge tragedy in his life. He feels he’s been spared himself for a purpose, which is a little bit deep for some people, but I can understand it and he has his opportunity to shine.

“And he’s quite chilled. If you watched his body language at the press conference, I mean, AJ is never going to exchange banter with Tyson Fury. He loses by knock-out on that, but AJ looked to me like, ‘yeah, I’m really happy. Let’s bring it on,’ and he’s excited to find out about himself as well.

“And sometimes these things end in failure and sometimes you have the greatest day of your life.

“Either way, it is just the sport, it is just one day and both of them have made a contribution which, irrespective of the result on December 11th, will never be forgotten by British fight fans.”

Hearn, speaking ahead of his seventh-tier club Brentwood facing KSI’s Dagenham in the FA Cup on Saturday, acknowledged both Joshua and Fury are vulnerable.

“Will it bring out the best in AJ? I really think it will. I think it’s going to be a tear-up,” Hearn said.

“Both of them are vulnerable, both of them can punch. AJ might be the more vulnerable, but he’s certainly the heavier puncher.

“So, it is really going to come down to who lands the best shot early and who believes in themselves enough to keep their strategy.”

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