Nelson: AJ could be in 'world of trouble' against Fury

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have finally agreed to fight in Cardiff on December 11 following a lengthy holdup over the location of their historic all-British heavyweight clash; Former world champions Joshua and Fury have been long-term rivals

Anthony Joshua will be in "a world of trouble" against Tyson Fury if he brings the same level of performance as he did in his previous fight, according to Johnny Nelson.

On Thursday, the long-awaited all-British heavyweight clash was finally confirmed for December 11 at Cardiff's Principality Stadium.

Joshua comes into the fight on the back of a major scare during his July victory over Kristian Prenga, with the 36-year-old knocked down twice in the opening round before stopping his unheralded opponent in the second.

The fight was Joshua's first since he survived a December 2025 car crash that claimed the lives of his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif 'Latz' Adodele.

Former cruiserweight world champion Nelson told Sky Sports News : "Well mentally, remember almost a year ago, AJ was involved in a horrific accident.

"That's a lot to get over and get his head around. Hopefully, he's in a great space with that.

"His last fight didn't represent him very well. If you're going on his last fight, he's in a world of trouble."

Having taken time out of the ring after his two 2024 defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, Fury has this year recorded comfortable victories over Arslanbek Makhmudov and Mariusz Wach.

Nelson continued: "You look at Tyson Fury, his last fight was underwhelming but it wasn't worrying.

"So, the stages they're at, if you're going by their last fights, the one that's in a better condition I'd say would be Tyson Fury, because his last fight read better than AJ's last fight."

Nelson explained that he believes Joshua (30-4) has experienced a bigger drop-off than Fury (36-2-1) due to the former's greater reliance on his athleticism.

"Without a doubt, Joshua is explosive," Nelson said. "You saw the fights when he boxed people like Francis Ngannou, took them out cold.

"Tyson Fury, we've seen him box and knock people out. We've seen him go the distance. We've seen that slow burn and him winning a fight.