Fury vs. Joshua Is Official: Dec. 11 in Cardiff, on Netflix, for the WBA 'Super' Title Usyk Left Behind

After years of near-misses, it is signed: Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua meet on Friday, December 11, at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, live worldwide on Netflix. And there is a world title on the table.

Why there is a belt on it

Oleksandr Usyk gave up his WBA, WBC and IBF titles in June after stopping Rico Verhoeven, clearing the way for the next generation before one last fight of his own. Murat Gassiev became the WBA's recognised heavyweight champion. Now the WBA is reviving its "super" tier for Fury–Joshua, with Gassiev expected to stay beneath the winner as its secondary champion.

Call it what it is: a sanctioning body attaching its most prestigious strap to the division's biggest commercial fight, for two men who are a combined 0-4 against the champion who left it behind. That is not a knock on either fighter. It is how heavyweight belts work in 2026: the title follows the event. If you want to know why both came up short against Usyk, his footwork IQ is the place to start.

Where both men stand

Fury (36-2-1, 25 KOs) returned in April for his first fight since the back-to-back losses to Usyk, won 120-108, 120-108, 119-109 over Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, then made Mariusz Wach retire on his stool after seven rounds in Pattaya, Thailand, in July. Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) arrives off the scariest night of his career: dropped twice in the first round by Kristian Prenga in Jeddah in July, then a knockout in the second. One man looked sharp after a long layoff. The other looked vulnerable before he looked dangerous. Both versions are real, and both will be in Cardiff.

The setting and the business

Joshua knows this building: he beat Carlos Takam here in 2017 and Joseph Parker in 2018. The fight is promoted by Turki Alalshikh's Ring Magazine in collaboration with Dana White's Zuffa Boxing. A London launch press conference is scheduled for September 30, though Matchroom has reportedly threatened to delay it over unresolved details, including White's role. The winner becomes a three-time heavyweight world champion.

A belt was always going to follow this fight. What no belt can tell you is which version of each man turns up in Cardiff.

Also this week: Agit Kabayel's first WBC title defense in Oberhausen (in German), and the WBA and WBO orders shaking up super middleweight (in Spanish).