Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua reportedly set for WBA ‘super’ heavyweight title

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are set to contest the WBA ‘super’ heavyweight title at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11, according to a report by The Ring.

The all-British fight, officially confirmed on today, will be broadcast globally by Netflix. Both men will be attempting to begin a third reign as heavyweight champion.

The Ring’s Mike Coppinger reported: “Breaking: Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will fight for the WBA ‘super’ heavyweight title, @ringmagazine has learned. Fury and AJ will both be looking to regain a heavyweight title. Usyk remains The Ring champ while Murat Gassiev is the current holder of the WBA’s ‘regular’ heavyweight title.”

The WBA has not yet set out how the decision will affect Gassiev or its leading contender, Jarrell Miller.

WBA returns to two heavyweight champions

Awarding its ‘super’ title to the winner would restore the WBA’s two-champion structure at heavyweight after Oleksandr Usyk relinquished his remaining sanctioning-body belts in June.

Gassiev held the secondary ‘regular’ title during Usyk’s reign as ‘super’ champion and was understood to have been elevated when the Ukrainian gave up the belt, although he did not receive the ‘super’ designation.

The heavyweight won the WBA ‘regular’ belt by stopping Kubrat Pulev in December and defended it against Peter Kadiru in July. Under the reported plan, Gassiev would again be recognised as the organisation’s secondary champion beneath the Fury-Joshua winner.

The decision would also bypass Miller, who is ranked No.1 by the WBA and defeated Lenier Pero on points in an eliminator in April. Fury and Joshua occupy the second and third positions respectively. The WBA has yet to announce how Miller’s position or the mandatory obligations attached to the proposed ‘super’ title will be handled.

Fury and Joshua pursue third reigns

Joshua, 30-4 with 27 knockouts, first became a world champion by stopping Charles Martin in two rounds for the IBF belt in April 2016. He added the WBA title by defeating Wladimir Klitschko and later took the WBO belt from Joseph Parker.

Andy Ruiz Jnr stopped Joshua in June 2019, but Joshua regained the unified championship by outpointing Ruiz in their rematch six months later. Usyk then beat him in September 2021 and retained the titles by split decision in their August 2022 rematch.

Joshua’s next title opportunity ended when Daniel Dubois stopped him in the fifth round at Wembley in September 2024. He has since returned to winning form, recovering from two first-round knockdowns to stop Kristian Prenga in the second round in Jeddah in July. The Fury fight would be his 14th world-title contest.

Fury, 36-2-1 with 25 knockouts, dethroned Klitschko on points in November 2015 to win the unified championship. He did not defend those belts before beginning an extended absence from boxing.

His second title reign started when he stopped Deontay Wilder in the seventh round of their February 2020 rematch to win the WBC belt. Fury subsequently defended against Wilder, Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora before losing a split decision to Usyk in their undisputed championship fight in May 2024. Usyk defeated him again, this time by unanimous decision, seven months later.

After announcing his retirement in January 2025, Fury returned to outpoint Arslanbek Makhmudov in April and stop Mariusz Wach in July. His meeting with Joshua would be his ninth world-title fight.

The WBA belt gives championship status to a contest that has repeatedly failed to materialise. Plans for an undisputed fight in 2021 collapsed when an arbitrator ruled that Fury had to face Wilder for a third time. Further talks came to nothing in 2022 after Joshua’s second defeat by Usyk.

The latest negotiations were delayed by disagreements over the date and location before Cardiff was selected ahead of Wembley Stadium and Madison Square Garden.

There is no rematch clause in the current contracts. Asked about that provision, Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, told talkSPORT: “No, not at the moment. We will see how the fight plays out – it will be an exciting fight because there is so much on the line, there is so much history between them. If it is a great fight, then I am sure it is something they will do again if that is the case.”

Details of the undercard have not yet been announced, while the WBA must still clarify the status of Gassiev, Miller and the mandatory obligations attached to the title.