It has finally been confirmed that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will collide in Cardiff in less than three months’ time, with an impressive undercard expected.
It has taken the best part of a decade, but Fury and ‘AJ’ are now scheduled to face one another and co-star in one of the biggest fights in British boxing history.
Already, reports suggest that Shakur Stevenson may appear on the blockbuster bill – though not against Manny Pacquiao as previously reported – whilst Keyshawn Davis and Richardson Hitchins have also been linked to a welterweight affair.
Additionally, Jack Catterall has called for his mandated WBA (Super) welterweight world title challenge against Teofimo Lopez to take place on the card.
After the WBA controversially confirmed that Fury and Joshua would battle it out for its ‘super’ heavyweight belt, another championship fight from the top level has been touted.
Newly-crowned IBF heavyweight world champion, Filip Hrgovic, having told Ring Magazine of his interest in a first defence against the 1-1 recorded Rico Verhoeven, who controversially fell short against Oleksandr Usyk earlier this year.
“Maybe I’ll fight on the [Fury-Joshua] undercard. There were some rumours that Turki [Al-Alshikh] wants me to fight this guy Rico Verhoeven on that undercard.
“I heard some rumours about that, so maybe I’ll fight on the undercard. Of course I’d like that, I’m in, if we can make a good deal.
“It’s a little bit soon. I’d need to go to camp soon but if we can make a good deal maybe I can do that.”
For this to happen, mandatory challenger Frank Sanchez would need to be paid yet another step aside fee, but Hrgovic seemed confident in that being of little issue.
“He’s mandatory but if he needs to make another step aside, if financially we agreed, I think we are open to do whatever we want. We will see, at this moment we don’t know. My ultimate goal is to unify.”
Should that fight go ahead on the Fury vs. Joshua bill, Verhoeven would have the opportunity to claim world honours in just his third professional bout.
Late last week, there were questions raised as to whether the event would go ahead at all, but it is understood that a launch press conference this week will take place.
