Who's the landlord? Joshua and Fury jostle for A-side recognition

"Signed, sealed, delivered! AJ v Fury is on!"

That was the cry from Eddie Hearn on Instagram on Monday, confirming the news that the boxing world has been waiting to here for a decade now.

Anthony Joshua has signed a deal to fight fellow former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, after a July comeback against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh.

Once that's done and dusted, then we get the big one. Ten years in the making. Ten years of rumours, guesswork and conjecture. Ten years of what-ifs and maybes.

It has been a long decade of fight fans being tanalised, titillated and then gently let down. But it feels close now - closer than ever before, truth be told.

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Moments after Fury completed his own return earlier this month against Arslanbek Makhmudov, 'The Gypsy King' traded barbs with 'AJ' on the microphone at ringside.

"I challenge you, Anthony Joshua, to fight me next," he bellowed across Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, attempting to goad his rival into the ring. "Do you accept?"

The London 2012 favourite gave it the appropriate consideration, before he fired back: "You aren't going to tell me what to do. I'm the boss, you work for me. I'm the landlord."

It felt like a slight anti-climax at the time but Joshua is perfectly within his rights to have a tune-up before any proposed Battle of Britain can take place.

With just a semi-farcial TKO win over Jake Paul in Miami last December as his lone fight for more than a year, it isn't a surprise that he wants some practice rounds.

Factor in the personal tragedy of that subsequent car accident in Nigeria, where he lost two of his best friends, and the star deserves all the space that he needs.

Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The good news now is that His Excellency Turki Alalshikh wants to put the fight on. If we know once thing about the Saudi powerbroker, it’s that he usually gets what he wants.  

But if this fight is finally made for late 2026, who holds that claim to be seen as the A-side? Is Joshua really the landlord as he says? Or does Fury lay greater claim to top billing?

Lairy mischief or legacy profile?

Both 'The Gypsy King' and 'AJ' are two of the most recognisable men on the planet, six-foot-nine of mischief and paradox, the sculpted Adonis with a carefree nature and smile.

If top spot came down to wearing lairy clobber, or a suit without a shirt, then Fury takes matters, hands down. But beyond that, things are far more complex on other terms.

Fury was - and arguably still is - the bigger name in America. His stateside nights are all-timers, fans wowed by his American Pie croon in Las Vegas after downing Deontay Wilder.

But Joshua's dance with Paul in December offers new currency, having done huge numbers on Netflix and further raising his profile with the US-based boxing public to boot.

Both men remain hugely important to boxing. For years, Joshua was arguably the A-side of the entire heavyweight division, with the biggest name, and money on the table.

This time seven years ago, talk of a global domination plan seemed plenty reasonable, at least until the portly Andy Ruiz Jr. threw a spanner in the works of an American takeover.

That first career loss was swiftly avenged to earn Joshua two-time world heavyweight champion status though, ensuring Joshua was regarded as the man once again.

Mark Robinson/Getty Images

Fury, for his part, has scaled the summit more than once too, with the manner of his remarkable resurrection one of the glamour division's biggest stories in recent years.

Prizefighting is awash with cautionary tales of champions sunk by mental illness and addiction. it is rare for one to clamber out again, rarer still to become champion once more.

But that's what Fury did. He ditched the booze and the parties, lost over a hundred pounds and found himself with that Wilder trilogy to come back out on top of the pile.

Both men have achieved more – in terms of titles and riches – than they perhaps ever thought possible when they each started out on their respective professional journeys. 

Yet, there's an asterisk besides their names on who has the better credentials - and seemingly endless online chatter about who has the best resume between the pair too.

Reputations ready to be risked

Joshua can lay claim to more top contenders and ex-champions. He's gone in the ring with Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin and more, to name a few.

By contrast, Fury's legacy hinges on a quartet of peak performances with two men - his own title win over Klitschko, and the trilogy with Wilder on the comeback trail.

MVP

If it comes down to results, the argument continues. 'AJ' has the depth, but 'The Gypsy King' has the bigger wins when taken at face value across varied career junctures.

Fury lost to Oleksandr Usyk, yes, and twice at that. But so too did Joshua, and he has the reverse against Ruiz Jr. and a chastening defeat to Daniel Dubois to contend with too.

Then there's the contrasting personalities. Fury has turned self-belief into an art form; part fighter, part raconteur, part late-night storyteller in the boozer who refuses to go home.

Joshua has a calmness, commercially bulletproof in a sense. He's a showman who doesn't need to tell you that he's important. His numbers do that for him, and then some.

Sponsorships, stadiums, global reach on socials - his version of dominance comes with all the receipts, and the rent money paid by those partnerships to his reputation.

It is that Joshua intends to collect again; "I’m looking forward to competing and picking up where I left off," he said on Monday. "The landlord will collect his rent. That is certain."

Two very large men circling the same throne, each convinced the other is merely keeping it warm. Each elite prize-fighter convinced that they are the best British heavyweight of their era.

So for now, until they meet across ring centre, the street has two landlords, both insisting the other is late with the rent - and the audience remains transfixed as we watch on and hope that they can settle their differences inharmoniously and with maximum violence. It feels close now. Closer than ever.

Benavidez vs. Zurdo on DAZN PPV

Watch David Benavidez versus Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez on DAZN PPV this Saturday, May 2. Buy as a one-off PPV or get it included with the DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription, which also includes the Wardley vs. Dubois (May 9), Usyk vs. Verhoeven (May 23), Fury vs. Hall (June 13) and Zayas vs. Ennis (June 27) PPVs without any extra one-off costs.

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