Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will now be fighting for a title in December, and Dave Allen has given his view on the announcement.
After years of talk and months of final negotiations, one of the biggest fights in the history of British boxing between Fury and Joshua has finally been confirmed for December 11.
The heavyweight showdown between long-time rivals and former two-time unified rulers will take place at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
There is such a backstory to the contest, and with both men having been such dominating characters in the sport over the last 15 years, that fighting for legacy alone was enough to make it happen.
However, it has been announced that the WBA strap is now set to be on the line for the Fury vs. Joshua winner.
Speaking to TalkSport, Allen was frank with his view on the world title being added to this fight between ageing stars.
“In my eyes, Gassiev is the WBA Champion. It feels a bit forced, they’re forcing the heavyweight championship of the world on this to make it more important than it is.
“I think this is the biggest British boxing event of all time. I don’t think it’s the best fight but I think it’s by far the biggest event and I don’t think it needed the WBA title adding, but there we go.”
Neither man has fought any highly ranked contenders in the last couple of years. Joshua fought Kristian Prenga in July and was put down in the first round before winning in the second, while Fury took on the veteran Mariusz Wach the night before.
Murat Gassiev won the WBA Regular belt back in December and it was believed he had been upgraded to full champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt in July, but it seems that wasn’t the case after this latest development.
