Joshua, Fury finally set for December 11 blockbuster in Cardiff

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are set to settle their long-running rivalry when they meet at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on December 11.

The all-British heavyweight contest will bring together two former world champions whose proposed meeting has been the subject of negotiations for several years. The fight was reported by BBC Sport on Thursday.

Both fighters secured victories in their most recent outings in July.

Fury stopped Poland’s Mariusz Wach in the seventh round in Pattaya, Thailand, in a low-profile bout watched by about 1,500 spectators.

Joshua, meanwhile, survived an early scare against Albania’s Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Nigerian-born British fighter was knocked down twice in the opening round, including a first knockdown only 20 seconds into the contest, before recovering to stop Prenga in the second round.

The victory marked Joshua’s return to the ring following the car crash in Nigeria that killed his close associates, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.

Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, had previously indicated a preference for Wembley Stadium as the venue. However, the agreement with the Saudi organisers financing the event requires the fight to be staged in Britain, while a move to the United States would require fresh negotiations.

Hearn has repeatedly stressed the importance of the Fury bout to Joshua’s career.

After Pat Brown defeated John Hedges on September 19, Hearn said Joshua’s “whole career comes down to this” fight.

“There is a desperation to win this fight and this is why sport is the greatest. I’ve never wanted to win a fight so badly,” he said.

The Cardiff meeting will end years of uncertainty over whether the two British heavyweights would ever share a ring.

The fight is expected to draw major attention given the fighters’ profiles and the long-running anticipation surrounding their potential clash.