Ten years after their first call-outs, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will finally share a ring on 11 December at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, live on Netflix. The all-British showdown brings together two former two-time heavyweight world champions, with the WBA (Super) title on the line. Whoever wins becomes a three-time world champion and sets up potentially unification fights next year — especially considering there is no rematch clause.

Recent bouts have been tailor-made to ensure both men would meet in late 2026; Fury beat Arslanbek Makhmudov and Mariusz Wach after reversing his latest retirement, while Joshua stopped Kristian Prenga, seven months on from his knockout of Jake Paul.

Here's how 'The Gypsy King' and 'AJ' measure up in every department: this is the tale of the tape.

Tale of the tape at a glance

Age

Fury is 14 months older but has been in the boxing game far longer. Both men are within a year of each other, yet, the bigger gap is in mileage. Fury turned professional in 2008, aged 20, five years before Joshua's debut – and has packed 39 fights into that span despite announcing his retirement five times.

Height and reach

Fury has the edge in both. Whilst his 6ft 9in height is regularly contested by fans, he officially stands three inches taller than Joshua, and his 85-inch reach is three inches longer.

That reach did the damage in Düsseldorf in 2015, as Wladimir Klitschko admitted after losing his titles to Fury that the distance stopped him throwing his right hand, and it has been a key factor in almost all of his fights.

Weight

At their most recent weigh-ins, Fury carried a 14lb advantage. He scaled 265lbs (18st 13lb) for Wach in July, having weighed 267.9lbs for Makhmudov in April. The Wach fight was the first time in 15 years Fury came in lighter than his opponent. His career-heaviest is 277lbs, set for the third Deontay Wilder fight in 2021.

Joshua weighed 251lbs (17st 13lb) for Prenga. Against Paul, he came in at 243.4lbs – his lightest since 2021, and the first time in his professional career he had to make a weight limit. His heaviest is 255.25lbs, for Jermaine Franklin in 2023.

Stance

Both are orthodox, but only one stays there. Fury switches to southpaw freely mid-fight: he boxed most of his 2014 rematch with Derek Chisora left-handed, and turned southpaw to back Wilder onto the ropes in their first meeting.

Joshua has fought out of the orthodox stance throughout his career, famed for his trademark right-hand.

Boxing record and knockouts

Fury is 36-2-1 with 25 knockouts and has never been stopped, a record that has him ranked among the greatest heavyweight boxers in history. Both defeats came on points to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024; the draw was his first fight with Wilder in 2018.

Joshua is 30-4 with 27 knockouts – a 90% stoppage rate against Fury's 69%. But he has been stopped twice, by Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 and Daniel Dubois in 2024, with his other defeats coming on points to Usyk in 2021 and 2022.

The rounds column tells its own story. Fury has boxed 273 professional rounds, averaging seven per fight. Joshua has boxed 175, averaging just over five.

Common opponents

Six men have shared a ring with both, which is always an interesting factor to consider. However, styles make fights.

Both men are 5-2 against shared opponents. The difference is how they got there. Joshua stopped all five of the men he beat; Fury stopped one. Fury needed 76 rounds to complete those seven fights. Joshua needed 51.

Whereas Joshua has typically been a wrecking ball, Fury has operated as more of a master boxer, hence the staggering difference in fight outcomes. Yet, neither could tame the Ukrainian champion, Usyk, who beat both of them twice.

Amateur pedigree

This is one key area where both differ. Joshua was a late starter, taking up boxing in 2007 aged 18, but his athletic prowess helped him move through the levels fast: two ABA titles (2010, 2011), World Championship silver in Baku in 2011 and super-heavyweight gold at London 2012. He ended with a strong 40-3 amateur record, with Dillian Whyte among the three men to beat him in the unpaid ranks.

In contrast, Fury was raised in a fighting family and began boxing at 10, representing both England and Ireland. He won bronze at the 2006 World Junior Championships, gold at the 2007 EU Junior Championships, silver at the 2007 European Juniors and the ABA super-heavyweight title in 2008, finishing 31-4 with 26 knockouts. However, there was no Olympic opportunity for the Gypsy King, as Great Britain picked David Price for the Beijing Olympics, whilst Fury opted to turn professional rather than wait for London.

Titles and reigns

Fury: Beat Klitschko in November 2015 for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring titles. The IBF stripped him after 10 days, and he vacated the rest in 2016. He returned to stop Wilder for the WBC and Ring belts in 2020, becoming the first heavyweight to have held the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO and Ring titles. Three WBC defences followed before he lost to Usyk in 2024.

Joshua: Won the IBF title from Charles Martin in 2016, added the WBA (Super) and IBO against Klitschko in 2017 and the WBO against Parker in 2018. He lost the belts to Ruiz in June 2019, regained them six months later and lost them to Usyk in 2021 – seven successful defences across two reigns.

Career earnings

Neither man has an official career total, so the clearest markers are Forbes' annual earnings estimates and The Sunday Times Rich List.

Fury, one of the richest boxers in history, saw his record year come from his two Riyadh fights with Usyk; the rematch alone carried a reported total purse of around £150m. Joshua's best Forbes year included a reported $50m for knocking out Ngannou.

His payday for knocking out Jake Paul remains disputed. The Daily Mail reported $92m for each fighter, while MMA journalist Ariel Helwani suggested a figure closer to $40–50m.

Cardiff should top the lot. Both men are reported to be on an even split of around £75m, despite the pay cut Joshua took to bring the fight to the UK, and Frank Warren has said each will earn more than any British fighter has ever been paid for a single bout.