For those numb to the speculation that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will at last fight in 2026, there was comfort to be found in the recent footage of Joshua out in Ukraine with his old rival Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury vs. Joshua is a tired rivalry, one like many in recent years that could not be made at the right time so it's dragged into borrowed time. It’s veering towards pantomime territory, almost, with familiar characters trotting out familiar lines.
When one listens to Fury talk about giving Joshua time to get over the recent deaths of two of his best friends, then, in his next breath, declare he will “punch the head off” Joshua should they fight, neither the message of goodwill nor subsequent threat feel particularly worthwhile.
It’s different with Usyk and Joshua, however. Two fighters who entered their two-fight, 24-round, rivalry with complete respect for each other now have only more. Joshua, after seeing a proposed bout with Fury collapse in 2021, pluckily accepted the challenge from Usyk, unsuspecting of the boxing lesson he would endure over 12 rounds. There would be a return, one more competitive, but the Ukrainian would again prove superior over the championship distance.
It was difficult for Joshua to take, initially. His actions post-fight, when he groggily tried to vocalise his frustration before dumping the belts out of the ring, spoke to a man who realised for the first time that giving everything in a fight would not always be enough to win.
Their relationship today is rooted where it matters. It’s meaningful. It’s genuine. It’s the kind of story that many within the sport will claim is ‘what boxing is all about’ when, the truth is, it’s a story that’s gained traction because it stands out from the constant squabbling and name-calling we’ve gotten so used to.
Usyk showing Joshua around Ukraine, offering guidance in the gym and opening his arms for an embrace, says plenty about both. It is genuine, too, when they take time to speak to children or sit at ringside to support local amateur boxers, all of whom treasuring their attention. Both Usyk and Joshua have long understood the importance of keeping their feet, and egos, on the ground.
Quite what Joshua is battling inside his head is only known to him but what he went through, seeing his two friends die in the same car in which he was travelling, is not a click-of-the-fingers-and-it’s-over kind of ordeal. It’s incredible, as Elliot Worsell wrote last week, that barely three months have passed and, already, the boxing industry is getting impatient regarding an announcement about the 36-year-old’s next move. Incredible, too, albeit in a different sense of the word, that world heavyweight champion Usyk – with a fight in May to prepare for – is taking the time to be there for an old rival.
What the future looks like for Joshua is unknown. His last contest, out in Miami, Florida, when he broke Jake Paul’s jaw after a middling December performance, told us very little about Joshua’s prospects at the top of the heavyweight division.
Regardless of what may or not come next, Joshua – like Usyk – continues to conduct himself in a wholly admirable way. Not once, since a professional boxer, has he behaved badly outside of the ring. Evidence of his personality could be seen in the aftermath of the Paul victory when he took the time to thank each of his supporters in the crowd. That wasn’t just for the Netflix cameras, either. Though it used to get a little tiresome to wait hours and hours for him to wade through stadium crowds to get to post-fight press conferences when covering his fights, Joshua – in contrast to many of his standing – always makes time for those who really matter.
Regular trips to visit those who guided him during his amateur days are commonplace. He’s the first active elite boxer to show his support for Ringside Charitable Trust. He’s helped a lot of people; paid debts, bought homes, covered funeral costs. And all while asking for his acts of goodwill to remain private.
His desire to seek the teachings of Usyk, another heavyweight champion who exhibits exemplary conduct, is such a refreshing contrast to the verbal mudslinging that frequently stains boxing’s windows to the outside world.
“Now he’s my big, big brother,” Usyk said about Joshua to the Daily Mail this week. “Not my rival, not my opponent. He’s my partner. My brother.
“Anthony is a champion. He doesn’t have belts now. Doesn’t matter. Champion is a man who never gives up.”
Which is why it doesn’t really matter what comes next for the former two-time titlist. Joshua’s legacy, when one considers what really matters in this world, should already be secure.
