LONDON -- After decades of verbally jousting and fighting on social media, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua were surprisingly cordial and respectful of each other as they went face-to-face at a pre-fight news conference on Wednesday.
The British heavyweight superstars will fight on Dec. 11 in Cardiff, Wales.
At a lively first meeting in west London, fans made their voices heard and cheered their respective favourite fighters throughout the event.
And while they vowed to bring their brutal best in the ring, Fury and Joshua were full of respect for each other.
"When AJ was world champion, I was drunk every day and taking cocaine, I wasn't concerned [about] anybody else but my wellbeing," Fury said.
"He's a two-time champion, Olympic gold medallist, a role model, I find myself defending my arch-rival to the fans.
"We're here to fight, and fight we will, I look forward to the challenge. "We've had our ups and downs, I'm 38, AJ will be 37 soon, is it too late? Is it f------ too late? To throw down in front of 80,000, let the best man win, let's go out swinging."
Fury added: "I tell you what I'm going to do, I'm going to come out and blast him out. It will be the man who is going to win. I'm not going to run away or box, I'm going to throw down. I'm going to catch him and it'll be curtains."
Joshua, who also ordered a minute silence for some friends -- including Sina Ghami and Latif "Latz" Ayodele who died in a car crash in December -- and boxing legend Ricky Hatton, returned the kind words but said he was ready for a war.
"We love it. That's the energy that we want," Joshua said.
"There is nothing else I expect from this man. But this is what will keep me running and I want to prove to myself that what he says isn't possible."
Earlier in the year, the fight appeared set to be hosted in New York, before a late intervention from Joshua and Fury saw the event land in the UK.
"It's breathtaking and I'm not saying that lightly," Joshua said.
"I'm really grateful for this opportunity and bringing it to Great Britain because I know people in pubs have had proper fights about who will win and family members have fallen out.
"We'll inspire this generation and the next generation. It was people from this country supporting us. I'm fulfilling my destiny before I depart this world."
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