JUST IN: Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury to fight in Cardiff December 11

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Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will meet in a long-awaited all-British heavyweight showdown at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11.

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As reported by BBC Sport on Thursday, the fight will bring together two of Britain’s biggest heavyweight names after both men came through their respective warm-up bouts in July.

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Fury, 37, stopped 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in the seventh round in Pattaya, Thailand, in a bout staged before around 1,500 spectators and not broadcast on television.

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Joshua, 36, endured a dramatic contest in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, recovering from two first-round knockdowns before stopping Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga in the second round.

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The first knockdown came just 20 seconds into the fight, but Joshua recovered to secure victory.

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The bout was Joshua’s first since surviving a car crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.

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After his victory, Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn had expressed a preference for the fight to take place at Wembley Stadium.

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However, Joshua’s agreement with the Saudi organisers financing the event required the contest to be held in Britain, with a move to the United States requiring a renegotiation of the deal.

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Hearn has described the Fury fight as hugely significant to Joshua’s career.

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Speaking after Pat Brown’s victory over John Hedges on September 19, Hearn said Joshua’s “whole career comes down to this” fight.

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“There is a desperation to win this fight and this is why sport is the greatest. I’ve never wanted to win a fight so badly,” Hearn said.

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The December clash will finally see the two British heavyweights share the ring after years of negotiations and speculation surrounding a potential meeting.

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