‎British-Nigerian boxer, Anthony Joshua, has said he is ready to welcome Tyson Fury into the ring for their first-ever face-off, provided he gets past Kristian Prenga first.

‎Fury ended sixteen months of retirement in April when he defeated Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham, with Joshua watching ringside. However, Joshua refused to take part in a staged stare-down that night, insisting the grudge match between the pair had not yet been signed.

‎Joshua has since put pen to paper on his own deal ahead of his July 25 comeback bout in Jeddah against Albanian fighter Prenga, who carries a record of 20-1.

‎Fury, for his part, fights one night earlier in a tune-up contest against forty-six-year-old Pole Mariusz Wach in Thailand, and is expected to make the 4,000-mile trip afterwards to watch Joshua in action, effectively kicking off their long-awaited Battle of Britain.

‎“If he wants to come in the ring when I win July 25th, feel welcome. Come into my territory. I am the landlord. I am going to welcome you into my home. You do not welcome me into your home.

‎“I have been in that position before where I have signed contracts with Fury. So, I did not play into the games. I was there on a scouting mission. I wanted to see what my future opponent was going to look like, and I saw a lot. I saw some good, I saw some vulnerabilities in there,” Joshua told DAZN.

‎Joshua, aged 36, and Fury, aged 37, are yet to agree to a date or venue for their overdue domestic showdown, with Las Vegas and New York having emerged as outside alternatives to a fight staged in the United Kingdom. Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh, who is funding the bout, remains open to hosting it in the kingdom, though only at a later start time to accommodate American viewers, who would otherwise face a 2am ringwalk. London currently lacks the necessary licensing for a fight of that magnitude, while Cardiff’s Principality Stadium does not.