The Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua super-fight is set to take place over the next 48 hours, with the outcome potentially making or breaking British heavyweight boxing. This highly anticipated bout has been years in the making, with both fighters having defined the British heavyweight scene for over a decade without ever sharing a professional ring. However, the build-up to this fight has been as much about the personal journeys of Fury and Joshua as it has been about the fight itself. Tyson Fury, who briefly retired after back-to-back defeats by Oleksandr Usyk, has already had the comeback fight many felt he needed when comfortably outpointing Arslanbek Makhmudov in April. However, his trip to Thailand appears to be as much about publicity as preparation. The cameras for the third season of his Netflix documentary, 'At Home with the Furys', will be rolling at ringside with exclusive access. On the other hand, Anthony Joshua has not fought since surviving a car crash in Nigeria last December that claimed the lives of close friends Sina Ghami and Latif "Latz" Ayodele. Joshua has spoken about the emotional toll of the tragedy, and promoter Eddie Hearn believes boxing has "saved" Joshua - just as it did when he first took up the sport as a troubled 19-year-old searching for direction. The fight in Jeddah against Kristian Prenga, an Albanian knockout artist, is designed to be competitive but not too competitive. The greater threat to the Fury-AJ super-fight is injury. Tyson Fury is too smart and clever, and it's unlikely that Wach will be using his elbows or head. However, at Fury's age, with hard training camps, there's a risk of injury to his arm or leg. If both men emerge unscathed, attention will quickly turn to Jeddah. The hope is that Fury will travel straight from Thailand and join Joshua in the ring for an official announcement. However, the prospect of the biggest British fight in history taking place thousands of miles away is a difficult one for many UK fans to accept. The outcome of these next 48 hours will determine whether the biggest fight in British boxing history is a reality or destined to remain the sport's greatest what-if.
