Fury and Joshua hold first face-off in London ahead of December Cardiff bout

Key points

• Fury and Joshua met for the first time in person at a London press conference on September 30, ahead of their December 11 fight in Cardiff.
• The bout is scheduled for the Principality Stadium in Wales and will be broadcast globally on Netflix.
• UFC CEO Dana White was absent from the press conference, following a public dispute with promoter Eddie Hearn over his promotional role.
• Fury (36-2-1) and Joshua (30-4) are both on two-fight winning streaks after losing to Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois, respectively.
• The press conference was described as friendly and lacking the expected hostility, despite weeks of media exchanges between the fighters.

Background

The fight had been in negotiation for over a decade, with previous attempts to hold the bout in New York failing due to contractual disputes. The current agreement resolved the venue issue in favor of the UK, but led to a public feud between promoter Eddie Hearn and UFC CEO Dana White over promotional credit. The bout is for the WBA 'super' heavyweight title, which was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk.

How outlets are covering it

MMA Fighting reported that the press conference was expected to begin at 1 p.m. ET and noted that Dana White was not expected to attend. BBC Sport described the event as 'friendly' and lacking the 'fireworks' expected, with one commentator noting that Joshua 'wouldn't take the bait' from Fury. Sky Sports provided a live recap of the event, while ESPN was unavailable due to a server error. The outlets generally agreed that the atmosphere was calmer than anticipated, but differed in their emphasis on the absence of Dana White and the resolution of the promotional dispute.

Why it matters

The fight is a major heavyweight bout that has been in negotiation for over a decade, and its confirmation ends a months-long promotional dispute. The absence of Dana White from the press conference highlights the ongoing tension between the UFC and boxing promoters, which could impact future cross-promotional deals. The fight is also significant for both fighters, as they are on two-fight winning streaks after recent losses, and the bout is for the WBA 'super' heavyweight title.

What to watch

The fight is scheduled for December 11 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, with the main event scheduled for the early hours of Saturday to accommodate US audiences. The bout will be broadcast globally on Netflix. The next step is to see if the promotional dispute between Eddie Hearn and Dana White will be resolved, and if Dana White will attend the fight.