Former heavyweight champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are finally set to lock horns later this year in a long-awaited all-British grudge match.
Joshua, who has not fought since a car crash that killed two close friends at the end of last year, will first face Albania’s Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia in July.
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The 36-year-old’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said a deal to fight Fury — a fellow two-time world champion — had been agreed after years of speculation and false starts.
“Signed, sealed, delivered! AJ v Fury is on!” Hearn said on Instagram.
“The biggest piece of business we’ve ever done but more importantly the one we’ve always wanted. Biggest year of AJ’s career coming up, the comeback is on.”
No date or venue has been announced but the bout is expected to take place in November and be shown on Netflix.
Joshua escaped relatively unscathed after a collision that killed Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele in Nigeria, shortly after his most recent fight in December, a sixth-round knockout of YouTube star Jake Paul.
“It’s no secret I’ve taken some time to consolidate and rebuild to be ready for stepping back into the ring and this is the next step on that journey,” Joshua said, referring to the bout against Prenga in Riyadh on July 25.
Joshua was ringside earlier this month as Fury, 37, marked his comeback after 16 months spent in his latest spell of retirement with a unanimous points win over Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov.
It was supposed to be the moment that ignited the build-up to a contest between the two British fighters, but instead Joshua remained in his seat despite being beckoned into the ring to face off with his rival.
Now negotiations have been finalised and after a decade of circling each other and aborted attempts to agree a showdown while still in their prime, they will collide in a contest Fury has called “The Battle of Britain”.
Albania’s Prenga has 20 wins — all by knockout — in his 21 fights as a professional, but has yet to face an opponent anywhere near the class of the 2012 Olympic champion.
Both Joshua and Fury have lost twice to the current king of the heavyweight division, Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua has a record of 29 wins, including 26 by knockout, and four defeats, including two KOs, in his 33 fights.
Fury’s record is 35 wins, including 24 KOs, one draw and two defeats in 38 bouts.