London (AFP)
British WBC heavyweight boxing world champion Tyson Fury announced on Sunday that the title reunification fight against compatriot Anthony Joshua, holder of the WBA, IBF and WBO belts, will be held on August 14 in Saudi Arabia.
"Huge announcement, Fury vs. Joshua is scheduled for August 14 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The biggest sporting event in the world, all eyes (will be) on us," tweeted the "King of the Gypsies" on his official account .
The announcement is accompanied by a video where Fury says to himself "impatient, I repeat, impatient to crush Anthony Joshua on the biggest stage of all time".
“This will be the greatest sporting event Earth has ever had the chance to host. Don't miss it!” Added Fury, with his usual verve.
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn had already greatly fan the suspense on Tuesday by indicating that the fight would take place on August 7 or 14 in Saudi Arabia.
"These are the same people we dealt with for the fight against Andy Ruiz Jr, this event was very spectacular. As partners, they were also fantastic, so we are very confident," he added.
August 14 was probably preferred to avoid "competition" from the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which ends six days earlier.
This 100% English fight is eagerly awaited in the boxing world.
Mid-March, Hearn had announced that the boxers and their teams had agreed for a double confrontation between "AJ" (24 victories including 22 by KO, 1 defeat) and the "King of the Gypsies" Fury, undefeated in 31 fights.
In December 2019, Joshua reclaimed his WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight belts by beating Andy Ruiz Jr. in a rematch, three months after losing them in New York.
In December 2020, he defended his belts against the Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev (39) by the referee's stoppage on the 9th round.
Fury's last fight dates back to more than a year, with his victory in February 2020 against Deontay Wilder, by the referee's stop on the 7th round.
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