23 years on from Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno’s famous ‘Battle of Britain’, the sport of boxing finds itself on the verge of a similar yet larger event, with domestic heavyweight rivals Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua set to collide. Looking ahead to the proposed fight, Bruno has doubled down on his forecast for how the contest may play out.
Back in 1993, Frank Bruno came up short against Lewis, halted in round seven of what was a third unsuccessful challenge for the heavyweight crown. That Millennium Stadium event marked a first all-British scrap for the coveted throne, kickstarting an impressive run.
Since then, that number has extended to seven all-British heavyweight world title contests, Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley going to war in the most recent, with the latter having since activated his rematch clause to tee up an eighth.
There will be no world title on the line when Fury and Joshua collide, but that won’t stop the main event becoming one of the biggest in the sport’s recent history
Both men are scheduled for ‘warm-up’ bouts before their meeting – Fury’s yet to be made official – as Joshua looks to build additional experience under newly appointed trainer, Iegor Golub, when he faces Kristian Prenga in July.
Speaking last month, Bruno praised the move, believing Joshua’s mindset will be the difference-maker come fight night, saying, “if he’s in the right frame of mind, then I don’t see him having a problem.”
Now, in an interview with iFL TV, Bruno has doubled down on that opinion, believing that ‘old age has caught up with Fury’ and that Joshua will capitalise if he is in the correct headspace.
“It will be a good fight, I think that it is definitely going to go on, but I think that old age is catching up with Tyson Fury. Even his Dad says that, [about his] old age. I hope that he does very, very well.
“He has got the survival skills you know, Tyson, but Joshua is a very good puncher – if he believes in himself. If he goes in there believing in himself, it is going to be a hard fight for Tyson.
“We need it, it is good for boxing.”
Joshua returns on July 25 against Prenga, while Fury may take on an Albanian heavyweight of his own the following month. If both men come through, their own Battle of Britain is pencilled in for mid-November.
