Finally, after years of back-and-forth, a fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury appears to be just around the corner, and ahead of the fight, former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew has made a confident prediction.

Joshua and Fury boast a combined record of 2-3 since March 2024, but both are keen to prove they are still among the heavyweight elite and a fight between the two British icons is believed to have been signed.

But before fight fans get too excited, both “AJ” and “The Gypsy King” will have key warm-up fights that could jeopardize their reunion, with Joshua is scheduled to face Kristian Prenga in July and Fury are still looking for an opponent.

Still, Fury’s opponent is expected to be as risky as Joshua’s so as not to put their long-awaited fight at risk.

If both men go through their fights unscathed, their fight will take place in November, and the conversation will be on topic Fight Your Horn PodcastBellew confidently stated that he did not foresee the need to employ judges.

“The only thing I can fully, truly commit to, put my hand on my heart and say, ‘I really, really think this is going to happen,’ is that it won’t take long.”

As for the winner, Bellew was leaning towards Joshua, but admitted he couldn’t predict the Londoner’s victory with certainty until he saw how he fared against Prenga.

“The reason I can’t put my hand on my heart and think it’s Josh is because I need to see Josh in the ring and see what he can do.

“The example I could give him is that if he gets in the ring and just lets his hands work for six rounds, even if he thinks, ‘I’ll just let them go,’ he can knock anyone out.

“That’s what I’m predicting, Joshua can knock him out.”

Former heavyweight ruler and Joshua’s conqueror Andy Ruiz Jnr has thrown his hat into the ring as a potential dance partner for Fury, looking to once again thwart Joshua’s mega-fight plans.

“If AJ did it, they certainly should put Daniel Dubois in there now that he’s beaten him,” Warren said on talkSport Boxing.

The comment immediately raises an uncomfortable question about Joshua’s biography. Joshua’s status in the Hall of Fame is often tied as much to his commercial and nightly success as it is to the depth of his resume.

Meanwhile, Dubois now has stoppage wins over Joshua, Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Fabio Wardley during his recent rebuild. That makes Warren’s comparison harder to dismiss than it might have seemed a year ago.

Joshua’s career was commercially huge and historically essential for British boxing, but the actual list of elite victories has long divided fans. His biggest victory remains the victory over Wladimir Klitschko in 2017, who was 41 years ancient and had a long break after a defeat to Tyson Fury.

Joshua also has wins over Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin, Dillian Whyte and Andy Ruiz Jr. in their rematch, but critics question how many of those victories came over opponents in their best form. Parker fought Joshua in a much-criticized tactical fight many years before becoming the more aggressive version seen today, while Povetkin was nearing the end of his career.

Even a rematch with Ruiz remains up for debate, as Ruiz entered the second fight noticeably heavier after months of partying and celebrity attention following his upset victory in Up-to-date York.

That’s why comparing Warren to the Hall of Famer may say as much about the newfangled heavyweight era as it does about Dubois himself.

Dubois has suffered defeats to Joe Joyce and Usyk, but has also had stoppage wins over Joshua and Wardley and has quickly rebuilt his position after being written off by many.

If Joshua’s resume is deemed sufficient for possible Hall of Fame recognition, some fans will argue that the standard itself may not be particularly high in this generation of heavyweights.

Shaun Cummins survived a motorcycle crash that should have resulted in his death. The real horror came many years later.

In the early 1990s, Cummins – known as “The Guv’nor” – was a respected name in the British boxing community.

He won the WBA Inter-Continental title, fought for European honors, and shared the ring with solid operators at a time when domestic boxing was full of tough fighters and tough fights.

Then boxing disappeared from his life almost as quickly as it appeared.

Forced to take early retirement

Cummins retired after failing a brain scan in the mid-1990s at the age of 27 and never actually returned to the sport again, although he later tried to gain permission to fight in Ireland.

Like many former players, life after sports became messy and hard.

He worked in security, got involved in bodybuilding and changed jobs before everything changed in 2004, when a motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the chest down.

As a result of the accident, he almost died on the spot. Instead, Cummins survived despite the infection and, living in Leicester, spent the following years relying heavily on carers and medical support.

Over the years, Cummins continued to maintain a Facebook page, YouTube channel and Boxing Greats website, and posted regular updates online.

His last Facebook post was on May 1, 2012, just a few months before his death.

This is where the story took a obscure turn that few boxing fans expected.

Survival in the event of an accident and 24/7 care

By 2012, Cummins was largely forgotten by the sport. One of the people helping him with household chores was Thomas Dunkley, later described in court as his “informal guardian”.

When Cummins suddenly disappeared in September of the same year, police finally searched his bungalow and uncovered one of the most disturbing stories ever associated with British boxing.

His body was cut into pieces and hidden in freezers on the property.

Dunkley denied murder and claimed Cummins died naturally in his sleep before he panicked. The jury didn’t believe him.

During the trial, the court heard Dunkley bought a chainsaw and other equipment using Cummins’ bank cards before dismembering the former boxer’s body and placing the remains in multiple freezers in the house.

The court also heard that Dunkley used credit cards, bank accounts and money from Cummins’ trust fund after his death in an attempt to cover up the crime.

The murderer is convicted

He was later convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 34 years.

The details horrified Britain at the time.

However, many years later, the story seems almost forgotten, despite how shocking it was.

Cummins had already escaped death on the road only in the last years of his life, which ended in paralysis, isolation, dependence, financial exploitation and, ultimately, betrayal in his own home.

Older boxing fans will remember Shaun Cummins as a tough fighter from the elderly school era in the UK. For others, it may be the first time they hear his name in their lives.

Either way, his story remains one of the darkest and most tragic endings any boxer has experienced outside the ring.

About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.