Fury only wants Joshua but after 10 years of wrangling will superfight ever happen?

[Leo29]

Fury only wants Joshua but after 10 years of wrangling will superfight ever happen?www.theguardian.com

This is less straight news and more the big question hanging over British boxing. Fury says Joshua is the only fight he wants, but after years of missed windows, failed talks and changing momentum, plenty of fans are still refusing to believe it until both men are actually in the ring. Fair enough, really

[WaveFunction]

That headline is basically every fan's reaction now

[Harry64]

I don't think its happening

[ProperMadlad20]

Huge fight, but everyone's been burned too many times already

[GoldbergFan_X]

I'd have cancelled my wedding to watch them at their peak. Now is too late

[Vanessa26]

A lot depends on who is making the claim and what they are trying to sell. The incentive structures in media mean certain angles get more coverage than they deserve.

I will update this thread if anything significant changes.

[John]

Huge fight, but everyone's been burned too many times already.

Fair enough. Yeah I get that.

Cheers.

[ShawnMichaels99]

Good shout. Story of my life that.

Thanks for that.

Management decisions in big games are where titles are won and lost

[Pete]

The Fury-Joshua dance has been going on so long it's basically a British heavyweight soap opera at this point. Ten years of "it's happening," "it's not happening," "actually maybe it is," and we're still waiting for the bell to ring. The question isn't whether both fighters want it; they do, because the money is astronomical. The question is whether their teams can stop playing chess and just sign the contract.

Management is where this whole thing falls apart every time. You've got Fury's camp demanding terms, Joshua's side countering, promoters squabbling over splits, and somewhere in the middle there's a fight that everyone claims to want. It's like watching two people argue over how to split a pizza while it gets cold and nobody eats. The prize is right there, but ego and logistics keep getting in the way.

Practical example: remember the Wilder trilogy? That took years to materialize, and only happened because the narrative demand became unstoppable. Fury-Joshua has the same narrative pull, but the business side is messier. Different promoters, different broadcast deals, different egos in the room. Until someone blinks and accepts less than they think they deserve, it'll stay in limbo.

The age factor is creeping in too. Both fighters are still elite, but they're not in their prime anymore. Every year that passes makes the fight less about legacy and more about cashing in before retirement. That's not a bad thing, but it changes the stakes. A fight that could have defined a generation is now more about settling old debts and padding records.

What would actually make it happen? One word: pressure. Fan demand, media scrutiny, financial incentives so big that saying no becomes embarrassing. The moment both camps realize they're losing more by not fighting than by compromising, it'll get done. Until then, expect more press conference theatrics and "in talks" headlines that lead nowhere.

Tangent time: the Joshua side of this is especially frustrating. He's been in "must-win" fights for years now, and every loss resets the clock. Beat someone, get handed a bigger name, lose, start over. It's a cycle that's kept him busy but never quite delivered the defining moment. Fury's path has been messier but at least he's controlled the narrative better.

Real talk: this fight will happen when the money outweighs the pride. That moment is coming, probably sooner than we think, because both fighters know their windows are closing. When it does, it'll be massive, but the wait will have sucked some of the magic out. Still worth it for the history books, though.

[WarMachine62]

Ten years of wrangling and we're still having this conversation says everything about modern boxing promotion. The fight everyone wants is the fight that keeps not happening, and that's by design. Promoters know that anticipation sells, but there's a point where you've milked the hype cow dry and people just want to see the actual thing.

The Fury-only-wants-Joshua narrative is interesting because it's half truth, half negotiation tactic. Of course he wants the fight; it's the biggest payday available. But saying it publicly puts pressure on Joshua's camp to respond, and that's where the game begins. Every statement, every interview, every "I'm ready" post is a move in a chess match where the prize is leverage.

Management decisions absolutely make or break these mega-fights. Look at the Mayweather-Pacquiao saga: years of back-and-forth, contract disputes, drug testing demands, all before the fight finally happened. The difference? Both sides eventually realized the financial opportunity was too big to ignore. Fury-Joshua is heading the same way, just with more British bickering.

The broadcast rights mess doesn't help. Joshua's tied to one network, Fury's bounced between platforms, and nobody wants to compromise on who gets to show it. That's millions on the line beyond just the purse. Until someone offers enough money to make both sides forget their existing deals, it'll stay stuck.

Age is the silent factor here. Both fighters are still dangerous, but they're not getting younger. Every delay increases the risk that one of them loses form, gets injured, or just decides the hassle isn't worth it. That's the real enemy of super-fights: time. The longer you wait, the more likely something goes wrong.

What's funny is how fans have become desensitized to the drama. Ten years ago, every "fight is close" headline would send Twitter into meltdown. Now it's just met with collective shrugs and "yeah, right." The constant false alarms have trained everyone to expect disappointment. When it actually happens, half the audience won't believe it until the gloves are on.

Bottom line: this fight will happen because it has to. The pressure is too high, the money too big, the legacy too important. But the path to get there will be messy, frustrating, and full of unnecessary detours. That's boxing. When it finally does go down, we'll all watch, argue about the result, and immediately start demanding the next decade-long saga. That's the sport we love.

[Tabitha70]

Look, calling it wrangling misses the core issue: one man simply doesn't want to fight the other. It's like trying to schedule a date with someone who keeps changing their number. We've had star-crossed romances in music, cinema, and literature, but in sports? It's usually just commercial friction or genuine animosity. :/ The beauty of sport is that we get new heroes emerging while the old guard debates in boardrooms. Maybe the universe is protecting us from a boring exhibition!