RINGSIDE
July 2018 – Illustrated depictions of Joshua facing off against Wilder are featured on this cover with the title “Road To Undisputed.” Joshua outpointed Parker, adding the WBO strap to his IBF and WBA belts, and Wilder battled Ortiz to a late stoppage in defense of his WBC title. The next step seemed clear, but Wilder opted to stay on his side of the street and instead targeted the comebacking Fury for a December defense.
depicted Fury taking on the Hall of Famer he’s named after with the coverline “Tyson vs. Tyson.” Fury, our guest editor for the issue, had ascended to the stature that Klitschko held in 2012, but his domestic rival and three other world titles remained out of his grasp. December 2020 – A shared cover, Union Jack-colored logo and two coverlines said it all: “The Path To Undisputed” and “Fury-Joshua: The Fight Boxing Needs.” Both sides seemed sincere in their efforts to make it happen and it was reportedly very close. However, Fury had
addiction, and he also was denied a boxing license over a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug, leading to a protracted legal battle. He was out of the ring for the duration of 2016 and 2017. September 2017 – Joshua’s solo cover debut proclaimed it was “AJ’s Time” following his 11th-round stoppage of Klitschko in April, which was later selected as The Ring’s 2017 Fight of the Year. The epic victory before 90,000 at Wembley Stadium confirmed the 2012 Olympic champ as Britain’s No. 1 box office attraction. May 2018 – With his U.K. Anti- Doping suspension and mental health issues under control, Fury got back into the mix with the reigning titleholders in 2018. This cover featured the four unbeaten heavyweights with claims to the throne: Fury (“The Lineal Champ”), Joshua (“The Superstar”), Deontay Wilder (“The Puncher”) and Joseph Parker (“The Dark Horse”). Accompanying coverlines read: “Joshua- Parker Preview,”“Fury’s Comeback Begins,” and “Where’s the Wilder Love?” which acknowledged the American’s less-than-stellar WBC reign that was about to be put to the test with a defense against legit contender Luis Ortiz.
title “British Heavyweight Star Invades NYC.” AJ’s U.S. invasion was thwarted by Andy Ruiz. Meanwhile, Fury, who got up from two knockdowns to hold Wilder to a draw many thought he deserved to win, signed a co- promotional deal with Top Rank that introduced him to a wide American audience via two ESPN-televised bouts from Las Vegas in 2019. January 2020 – A retro-style cover previewed the Ruiz-Joshua rematch, which took place in Saudi Arabia. It was an homage to the September
July 2019 – Joshua’s second solo cover heralded his U.S. debut with the
Fury rematch. Fury “retired” again following the second loss to Usyk, but we all knew he would return. He’s the perennial comeback kid (even though he’s 38). It’s in his DNA. What took me a while to realize is that Joshua is cut from the same cloth. He won’t go away either. Joshua rebounded from the back-to-back losses to Usyk only to go through more trials and tribulations – the punishing KO to Daniel Dubois, looking shabby against Jake Paul, surviving a car crash that tragically took the lives of two teammates, almost getting blitzed by Kristian Prenga – but he’s still here. Kudos to Joshua and to Fury, whose return vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov was the cover subject of our April 2026 issue. “Tyson Fury’s Gamble” was the coverline because we thought a loss would have jeopardized the Joshua showdown. But now I understand that this matchup was destined to happen in spite of any setback, because I see them as opposite sides of the same coin. Neither man will ever give up on himself. I don’t like that it took this long for Fury and Joshua to share the ring, but given their pride and experience – as well as their diminished reflexes, mobility and punch resistance – there’s a good chance they’ll deliver a dramatic slugfest and make for a very special night.
1974 cover featuring Foreman vs. Ali, which also took place in an exotic (and controversial) locale. Joshua won the December 2019 “Clash On The Dunes” by careful unanimous decision. May 2020 – A celebration photo of Fury with the Ring and WBC belts over each shoulder accompanied the coverline “Long Live The King.” Unlike Joshua, Fury was spectacular in his February rematch against Wilder, who he dominated to a seventh-round TKO. Fury regained the vacant Ring championship and snatched the green strap that Wilder had held for five years.
a contractual obligation to face Wilder a third time and, following months of legal grappling, the American forced their grueling October 2021 finale. Meanwhile, Joshua stayed busy with a mandatory defense against former undisputed cruiserweight champ Oleksandr Usyk – and lost. He lost their 2022 rematch too. At this point, I figured Fury-Joshua was going the way of Tyson-Foreman and Bowe-Lewis. And despite Fury’s face next to Usyk’s grinning mug atop the cover to the April 2022 issue featuring the “Fights We Want To See in 2022,” I didn’t think we’d get that undisputed
heavyweight championship bout. Given Fury’s purse-split demands, periodic “retirements” and life-and- death struggle with debuting MMA champ Francis Ngannou, I probably would have been correct if not for Turki Alalshikh’s entry into the sport. Thanks to Riyadh Season, we got Fury-Usyk I and II in 2024 (and a clear Fighter of the Year in the triumphant Ukrainian). We also got The Ring’s return to print after being out of circulation for 2023 and 2024. The cover to our first issue back in hard copy, a special edition dated December 2024, featured the preview to the Usyk-
June 2020 – An illustrated cover
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