Five years ago, Anthony Joshua became the king of heavyweights. He knocked out Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley before 90,000 souls and moved to a higher echelon. Nowadays, AJ is not having the best moment of him, looking to recover from his loss to Usyk, and another Englishman, Tyson Fury (31-0-1, 22 KO) has his throne. He only needed a ‘palace’ and he will release it. In the same place that elevated Joshua, He will face Dillian Whyte (28-2, 19 KO). Beyond the combat, the packaging and the message you want to send is the most striking. A different distribution of the ringsite, helped by a greater permissiveness of the authorities (limited to 90,000 fans for security reasons), will allow him to fight in front of 94,000 fans, the event with the largest influx in the history of the stadium. The era of the ‘Gipsy King’ began with his two KO’s to Wilder (the last one, in October 2021), but it will have its debut this Saturday in London.
The lawsuit itself is also morbid, although Fury is very favorite. Whyte, who has only lost to Joshua and Povetkin in his career, is the interim WBC champion and has been waiting years for this opportunity. His time has finally come, but at 34 it may be a little late. His boxing, crude, is characterized by his punch and his courage… although in his last appearances it has raised doubts. It is clear what plan he will seek: a war to try to make Fury uncomfortable. The champion, on the other hand, arrives at the best moment of his career. At 33 years old, he is more focused than ever and with exquisite boxing. With a 2.16 wingspan (18 centimeters longer than his opponent) he should have no problem keeping the fight from long range and from there punish Whyte in the same way he did with Wilder.
Outside of strictly sports, the duel means a lot to Fury. Throughout the week, thanks to his peculiar way of being, he has been in the news. All the spotlights point to him and with the 94,000 tickets he has managed to sell, he will leave no doubt that he is the highest grossing boxer in the division. His eyes are on unifying the heavyweight. The equation does not depend on him. Anthony Joshua will wait until July 16 for Olek Usyk. If the WBA, IBF and WBO champion cannot fight him before then, he will look for another option. What will happen to the Ukrainian? That is the big question. Being at the front for several months in his country has taken a physical toll on him (he has lost more than ten kilos) and it is unknown what his near future will be and the date on which he will be able to compete. Tyson is attentive to how everything evolves, but first he must ratify his position with a victory. He wants to be the A side of the negotiations despite having only one of the four belts. That is only achieved in one way: being the king of the division in the ring and for the fans. At the moment it is, and this Friday opens the palace. Wembley awaits its ‘Gipsy King’.