Just before midnight on Saturday, an hour after the first victory of his latest comeback, Tyson Fury found himself back on familiar ground: talking about Anthony Joshua. After outclassing Arslanbek Makhmudov, the tough but limited Russian heavyweight, over 12 one-sided rounds, Fury made clear that the British rival he most wants is Joshua.
In the lavish depths of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Fury sounded both focused and frustrated as he revisited the long-running uncertainty surrounding a fight that has been discussed for years. He said: “Ten years in the making and still, after all this time, there’s uncertainty if this fight’s gonna happen next. I’ve no idea. I hope so but you can’t force someone to do something.”
The remark captured the central tension around one of boxing’s most talked-about possible matchups. Fury has now completed another comeback win, but the opponent he keeps circling is Joshua, his old British heavyweight rival. For Fury, the message was simple: it is Joshua or nothing.
That stance has become a recurring theme in the long and complicated history between the two men. The fight has been spoken about for years, yet the timing and the circumstances have never quite aligned. Fury’s latest comments suggested that, despite the renewed momentum around his career, he still does not know whether the long-awaited showdown will ever finally be made.
His win over Makhmudov was decisive, but the performance itself was quickly overshadowed by what came afterward. Rather than dwell on the details of the contest, Fury returned to the larger question hanging over heavyweight boxing: whether the sport will ever see the all-British superfight that has been discussed for so long.
Fury’s insistence on Joshua also reflected the symbolic weight of the matchup. Both men have been central figures in British heavyweight boxing for years, and both have been linked repeatedly with a fight that would draw huge attention. Yet the uncertainty remains, even after a decade of speculation.
For now, Fury has at least re-established himself with another victory. But his post-fight focus made clear that his priorities have not changed. After beating Makhmudov, he was not interested in widening the conversation. He wanted only to address Joshua and the question that has followed both fighters for so long.
Whether that meeting ever happens remains unresolved. Fury’s comments offered hope, but also a blunt reminder of the limits of his own influence. As he put it, a fight cannot simply be forced.
For a heavyweight rivalry that has lasted nearly as long in public discussion as it has in the ring, that uncertainty may be the defining feature. Fury continues to say Joshua is the one he wants. The problem is that after 10 years of wrangling, nobody can say for sure whether the fight will finally take place next.
