By Adegboyega Adeleye
Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are set to face the media for the first time on Wednesday after issues surrounding their eagerly anticipated heavyweight showdown were resolved.
According to Sky Sports, the British rivals will appear at a press conference at the British Airways ARC at the Olympia in London ahead of their December 1 fight at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
Joshua, Fury, promoter Eddie Hearn and Fury’s promoter Frank Warren are all expected to attend the event, where the two heavyweights will also have a pre-fight face-off.
The press conference had been in doubt after Hearn told Sky Sports over the weekend that nothing had been confirmed regarding the media event.
However, an agreement has now been reached to allow the promotional activities for the fight to proceed.
The development comes after Fury raised fresh doubts about the bout taking place, claiming there was only a ‘one per cent’ chance that he would face Joshua next.
Fury questioned why a fight with Joshua had repeatedly failed to materialise despite his long career against other champions.
“I’ve had nearly 40 professional fights, yeah, and I’ve been on top of this game for over a decade,” Fury said in an interview with FurociTV.
“How did I manage to fight all these people before you, all these champions, yeah, for all these titles that there is in boxing, but, yeah, every time it comes to fighting [Joshua]… it never happens.
“Has anyone ever asked themselves why?”
Meanwhile, Hearn had also questioned whether Fury had enrolled in pre-fight drug testing.
Fury’s manager has since confirmed to Sky Sports that the former heavyweight champion enrolled in the testing programme six days earlier than required.
The December 11 showdown is also reportedly set to have the WBA ‘super’ heavyweight title at stake.
Fury said the additional title incentive would make the fight even more significant, with the winner potentially becoming a three-time heavyweight champion.
“I’ve just seen today that it’s for the WBA world heavyweight title as well, so that’s another little bit of incentive,” Fury said.
“Whoever wins this one will become three-time heavyweight champion. So that’s another incentive to win.”
The London press conference will provide the first major opportunity for Fury and Joshua to face each other publicly since their blockbuster all-British fight was officially confirmed last week.
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