And ... breathe. For a moment on Saturday, the hopes of a sport appeared to go up in smoke as Anthony Joshua was sent to the canvas in the opening seconds in his fight against Kristian Prenga ... Seemingly moments away from any fight against Tyson Fury being scuppered forever.
Of course, Joshua rallied (and survived a second knockdown) to beat Prenga before instantly turning his focus to Fury. While it's far too late in the eyes of most, Joshua and Fury are on track to face each other in November.
The date and location remain unknown. But after they both won their respective fights, Fury against Mariusz Wach on Friday and Joshua against Prenga, there is, as promoter Eddie Hearn insisted, no doubt that the fight happens next.
"It's done. We signed a legally binding contract about three months ago," Hearn said.
So what happens now, what could the fight look like, and where on earth will it be?
What we learned about Fury
Well, not a whole lot. The bout against Wach was a glorified sparring session that he won with a Round 7 stoppage. It wasn't televised so we haven't seen the full fight although it gave Fury a chance to keep ticking over and, it should be mentioned, raise money for a children's charity in Thailand, where he has been based this year.
In his return against Arslanbek Makhmudov in April -- after over a year out of the ring -- Fury was rusty but by the end of the fight he was moving well and showed signs of his jerky, awkward self to win the bout convincingly.
From the clips that have emerged, he looked in good shape on Friday and has clearly been training hard and consistently. But questions remain. Is his power still there? Can he take a shot from Joshua? Time waits for nobody, especially not fighters.
We didn't get Fury the showman this week. He seemed to accept that his fight with Wach was to tick over, but there's no doubt he will raise his level significantly for Joshua - James Regan.
And Joshua?
First and foremost we saw Joshua has the resilience to come back from yet another setback. This time it was in the ring as he was dropped after 20 seconds by Prenga. The feat was to be repeated towards the end of the first round too. It could've easily gone sour for Joshua, who took plenty of damage early on and made it look easy for Prenga to find a way through the armour.
Prenga himself was something of a surprise as despite coming in with a respectable record -- 20 knockouts from 20 victories and one defeat - this was still a step up. In the early going he rattled Joshua. With a right hand and a right uppercut, Prenga rocked Joshua enough to send him to the canvas twice.
That means twice Joshua had to dig deep and avoid an historic upset, finding his feet after looking unsteady and reasserting himself in the fight. One of the constants throughout Joshua's career has been having composure and assurance in his ability.
That came to the fore in the second round and we saw something resembling the level that took Joshua to the top of the heavyweight division. Joshua's already a champion of course, his return after the death of two friends has been monumental and it's something few could've done.
The 36-year-old spoke in typically emphatic fashion after the fight. "I am a serious fighter; I know my way around the ring. He came and gave me a good test. But this is what champions do. We keep going. That's life."
That's the good. The bad however? We saw Joshua penetrated all too easy from a variety of Prenga approaches. Joshua simply can't allow that against the unpredictable Fury who can throw from any and all angles. With the added danger of more power. And the ugly? The first round was one of, if not the worst, round of Joshua's career. It was chaotic, un-organised and simply sloppy.
The good, the bad and the ugly of Joshua all being said. Gun slinger Fury will be even more eager to take his shot next on evidence of this - David Cartlidge.
What happens next?
The fight is "signed" ... Although we can go easy on the "sealed and delivered" part for now. We've been here before. A two-fight deal was agreed in 2020, only for the bout to be scuppered by a WBC ruling that forced Fury to face Deontay Wilder a third time. There have been several other instances in the last decade when the fight was "close" but it never happened.
But this does feel different. Both fighters have signed a contract with Turki Alalshikh, who along with Netflix, are putting the money up. To be fair to Alalshikh, the Saudi Arabian powerbroker who has been involved in most big fights over the last few years, he often delivers.
He brokered Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford as well as two fights between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn - three events that likely would not have happened were he not involved.
Fury's comments this week are cause for concern. He expressed his doubts about the fight, calling Joshua a "bottle job." This could be mind games, but at this stage, fans would appreciate more positivity and a "can-do" attitude from everyone involved. Hearn made it clear from Joshua's side: There will be no more interim fights and no more delays.
Fury's manager Spencer Brown has said "100%" the fight will happen. The next couple of weeks appear crucial for ironing out the details and fans are desperate to see a poster or a news conference or a confirmation of any kind .... Something that assures us this is happening - Regan.
Where will it be?
About that .... The location of the fight has been a major talking point over the last few weeks. It was assumed that, being an all-British bout, that it would take place at Wembley Stadium in London.
However, there have been rumblings that Netflix would prefer it to be in the United States to suit their time zone and maximise the streaming audience.
Hearn has said: "There's a reason that we put contracts together. There's a reason AJ employs lawyers, there's a reason that me and him sit down and have endless conversations to make sure every move is correct.
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"We insisted that this fight was in the UK. I know AJ will sometimes want to be a peacekeeper, but the reality is he said to me 'I want the fight in the UK.'"
Hearn told The Athletic this week that Madison Square Garden have offered to host the fight, while there is a push to keep it at Wembley with the main event in the early hours of the morning, to suit the U.S. time zone.
It's the venue that appears to be (at least one of) the bones of contention at this time. Joshua has said this week it's his "dream" for it to be at Wembley. As Hearn has said, it will come down to who is paying the bill but contracts will have to be renegotiated.
Another stumbling block. UK fans might not be happy, those putting up the cash -- a lot of it, too -- have every right to dictate where they host the event. If it comes down to New York or bust, there's one clear option - Regan.
