Derek Chisora insists the heavyweight showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua has not come too late, having been in regular contact with Joshua during his preparations.

Fury, 38, and Joshua, 37, are finally set to meet on December 11 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. It’s been a long time in the making; too long, say many observers.

Not Chisora, though. The 42-year-old, who has yet to fully commit to the retirement that was supposed to follow his April loss to Deontay Wilder, lost three times to Fury during his long career.

A bout with Joshua, though sporadically rumored, never materialized due to the longstanding friendship between the pair.

“I speak to [Joshua] every Friday after his week of training camp,” Chisora told talkSPORT.

“I send him a message asking him how it was, and he said 'yeah I'm killing it'.

“So that is all I need to know, he's killing it. Whatever happens it is going to be an exciting fight on December 11.”

Chisora insists the showdown is coming at the right time, even though both fighters have seen their stock fall since the contest was first discussed as a possibility in 2016.

“I am so excited about it,” Chisora continued.

“We are not getting it too late, it is at the right time.”

Joshua will start as the underdog. Though he has won his two most recent bouts – against Jake Paul and Kristian Prenga – the fact that he took until the sixth round to beat Paul, and had to get up off the floor to defeat Prenga, suggests he is far from the destroyer of his peak.

What undoubtedly remains, however, is his vaunted power.

“Both fighters have something to prove still in the ring. AJ has to knock him out in the first six rounds.

“After that it is a long night, but AJ has the power to knock out Tyson any round.

“But has Tyson got that same power? No. However, what Tyson will do is make the fight at a higher pace.

“He has the endurance to sustain it for 12 rounds, and throw a higher volume of punches.”