Tyson Fury to face British heavyweight boxing rival Anthony Joshua in Cardiff on Dec 11

LONDON – Tyson Fury will face Anthony Joshua in an all-British heavyweight boxing showdown in Cardiff on Dec 11.

The long-awaited clash had initially been linked with venues in New York and London before promoters settled on the Principality Stadium in the Welsh capital.

After months of negotiations that threatened to scupper the fight as Fury called for a rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, Saudi Arabian boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh announced the venue and date for the bout on Sept 24.

“For 15 years no one has been able to make this fight,” he wrote on social media.

“Back in April, I said that any announcement would come from me. I can now confirm that Fury v Joshua will be coming to the UK, as I promised British boxing fans. The time for talking is over...”

Choosing the 80,000-capacity stadium in Cardiff, which has hosted the Champions League and FA Cup finals, as well as Wales national team matches in football and rugby, allows both fighters to finally start their preparations for the eagerly anticipated clash.

The fight, one of the biggest in British boxing history, will be broadcast on streaming service Netflix.

Fury, 37, twice unified heavyweight world champion who has a 36-2-1 (25 KOs) record, defeated 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in Thailand in his most recent bout in July.

Joshua, 36, also twice unified heavyweight world champion with a 30-4 (27 KOs) mark, survived a pair of first-round knockdowns to beat the unheralded Kristian Prenga in his last fight two months ago. AFP