Boxing: Tyson Fury has date with Anthony Joshua on his mind

Tyson Fury exchanges words with Deontay Wilder at a news conference. Photo / AP

A year ago, Tyson Fury's weight had ballooned to around 184kg after his licence to box had been withdrawn and he had vacated his three world heavyweight titles.

Twelve months later, and he is poised to complete a remarkable return to the top and set up a mouthwatering clash with the sport's superstar, Anthony Joshua.

Fury has not faced a proper test since producing the best performance of his career to beat Wladimir Klitschko in Germany in 2015 but looked surprisingly sharp against two vastly inferior opponents in his two comeback fights this year and, being only 30, should still have plenty of rounds left in the tank.

With Fury's training camps going well, he looks in far better shape physically and mentally than many were expecting and, while few fighters polarise public opinion in the same way as the Englishman, his skills inside the ring should not be called into question.

His opponent in Los Angeles tomorrow, Deontay Wilder, won the WBC title in 2015 to become the first American heavyweight champion in nearly a decade and has cut a swathe through this division, winning 39 of his 40 professional fights inside the distance. The fight will feature a fascinating clash of styles. Will the boxer beat the puncher?

Fury has a 5cm height advantage and reach over Wilder and is expected to weigh in around 12kg heavier for this contest. He is unlikely to surprise tactically and will attempt to use his physical attributes and long jab to keep Wilder at distance throughout the contest.

It's clear from a bookmakers' perspective who is most likely to finish the bout early, with Fury a best-priced 100/1 to win in the first round and 12/1 to be victorious in the first six rounds, while the biggest price about Wilder winning before any fighter has sat on his stool is 33/1. He is just 4/1 to taste glory in the first half of the fight.

There will be plenty of punters backing Wilder to strike early, with the unbeaten American failing to stop only one of his opponents. However, the vast majority of his bouts have been against shorter men with shorter reaches and, while he will have undoubtedly sparred with some giants in the build-up to this, it is not hard to envisage that he might take a few rounds to size up the man in the opposite corner.

Wilder has been forced to fight just six times past round seven since he turned professional in 2008, but those have all come during his last eight bouts. That suggests that the higher he progresses up boxing's food chain, the longer he is taking to put away his opponents and the harder he is finding it to unleash his power. However, that is as it should be and in a fully focused Fury, Wilder faces easily his biggest test in the ring.

Fury will be expecting to take this fight to the scorecards and it is only the worry of a tight call and a home-town decision that could force him out of his comfort zone late on.