There is a mega-fight on the horizon. A fight so obvious that if you asked 100 fans who they want either man to fight next, all 100 would say the other. Without exception.

Even so, despite every single available arrow pointing directly towards it, the fight is still not yet done and dusted, in the books, all systems go.

That’s essentially where we are with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, despite the best efforts of the former and just about everybody else in the ring at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium just before 11pm on Saturday night.

Anybody reading this column will have no doubt seen the footage by now, or were perhaps there in person to witness it. Fury, having taken care of Arslanbek Makhmudov, turned his attention to "AJ," seated at ringside.

“Do you accept the challenge?” He cried in the direction of his British rival. There was a pause from the two-time world heavyweight champion. Surely, everyone thought, it was just to build suspense as the Netflix camera zoomed in on his face.

In what should have been a real WWE moment, that lengthy pause could have made way for an affirmative yes, maybe even an emperor-like thumbs up, Hell, we would have taken a simple nod of the head, as long as it lead to the first ever face-off between the pair inside that ring.

Instead, Joshua refused to be sucked into the moment, leaving Fury like a jilted lover at the altar. "AJ" eventually insisted he would not be forced to dance to Fury’s tune and referred to himself as "the landlord," whatever that means. It was yet another example of how egos, posturing and one-upmanship can be the death of a great fight before it is ever even made.

In fairness to Joshua, he would later suggest that he still wants a warm-up fight before heading into a Battle of Britain with Fury and that’s understandable.

Apart from taking out Jake Paul at the end of six strange rounds in Miami four months ago, AJ has not boxed since Daniel Dubois iced him at Wembley in September 2024. Fury, after 16 months retired, shook off the ring rust with 12 rounds against Makhmudov so Joshua would argue he should be allowed the same by way of warm up.

The problem is that boxing history is littered with fights we never got because warm-ups went awry and Joshua of all people will know that. He was on course to finally fight Deontay Wilder and kept up his side of the deal by obliterating Otto Wallin in Riyadh in December 2023. The only problem was, on the very same card, Wilder lost to Joseph Parker and that fight went up in smoke.

Of course Joshua is not planning on losing the warm-up, he will back himself to take out a second, or maybe third-tier guy, blow off the cobwebs and then face Fury. Given the personal tragedy he has had to deal with over the past few months, it is little wonder he wants a run-out.

He has been in the gym lately but we are already half way through April and Joshua has nothing yet booked. Best-case scenario would be an early summer warm-up before a Fury fight in September, but Q4 probably looks more realistic right now, and that is assuming Joshua wins and avoids getting cut or injured. Let’s not forget that a heavyweight can quite easily break a hand on the skull of their opponent no matter how straightforward a victory they register.

This is, of course, a pessimistic and cynical view of proceedings, but could any boxing fan ever be blamed for adopting that? Over the years we have come to realize that, sometimes, we simply can’t have nice things.

Although it comes a few years later than anyone would have hoped, Fury-Joshua or Joshua-Fury is still exactly that. This is a rivalry that has been bubbling since 2010 when they first crossed paths in a now infamous sparring session at Finchley Boxing Club. “He’s red-hot, him,” a 22-year-old Fury said afterwards. “He’s only very young, 20, but watch out for that name Anthony Joshua he is one prospect for the future. He came out at me for three rounds and he gave me a beating, I’m not going to deny it.”

The truth is that Joshua had read an article in Boxing News where Fury pledged to give his Rolex to anybody who could knock him down. Joshua didn’t manage it so never did get his hands on the new timepiece, but he will be able to afford a few more should this deal get done.

Then, seven years after that spar, it was Joshua who became the motivating factor for Fury. In November 2017, two years on from his stunning victory over Wladimir Klitschko, Fury, battling a UKAD doping violation, was 100 pounds overweight and didn’t even have a license. At that point, it looked like he would never box again.

By then, Joshua had won the WBA and IBF belts vacated by Fury in his absence and, with a single tweet, got the ball rolling on his British rival’s return. “Get fit you fat f—k," he famously wrote, and Fury, who was out walking the dog when he read it, decided to make those words his mantra for the comeback.

The point is, these two need each other and always have. Now with the chapter on this heavyweight era about to end, British boxing needs the fight more than ever.