After months of public back-and-forth between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua's respective camps, fight fans - particularly in the UK - were salivating at the prospect of finally seeing the fabled 'Battle of Britain' take place.
But strange deadlines, an unusual legal soap opera, and a few expletive-laden social media posts later, any proposals for the mega bout were scrapped as Fury proclaimed AJ's chance to face him had evaporated.
Fast-forward just a few weeks and out of nowhere we're given a fight that nobody expected, nobody really wanted, and one that we've already witnessed twice before.
Tyson Fury v Derek Chisora III has been slated for early December at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with over 50,000 tickets already sold and another boxing sell-out expected for the North London ground.
Despite the supposed strong sales figures, many fans are still left feeling less than impressed with the decision.
The trilogy no one wanted
Rumour has it, Fury's camp was flirting with the equally underwhelming prospect of fighting German Mahmoud Charr (38).
Despite a relatively decent pedigree - he's 33-4 with 19 wins by KO - as well as a well-timed social media post making the headlines in the midst of the AJ talks, Charr's reputation carries little weight.
Chisora, while not seen as a realistic challenger for any heavyweight belts, is still very much a household name in Britain.
Despite some dubious pre-fight antics in previous years, notably with compatriots Dillion Whyte (34), David Haye (42) and Fury himself, Derek Chisora still has a healthy-sized fanbase in his homeland.
Known for his durable style and rather ridiculous ability to take a punch, Chisora won over the hearts of many after taking reigning heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk (35) the distance back in 2020, losing by way of a unanimous decision in a brutal bout which made headlines - for once - for all the right reasons.
While Whyte may well have been willing to throw his hat into the ring - a third bout with Chisora is easily marketable, and 'Del Boy' still retains plenty of credibility as something of a measuring stick for the heavyweight boxing scene.
Chisora's hit-and-miss record
The Gypsy King has beaten Chisora twice already – once in 2011 and then again in 2014. The first fight was won by unanimous decision as Fury was beginning his true ascension to boxing's peak, while Chisora retired in the tenth round of their second encounter.
Fury would go on to fight in a historic bout against then-champion Wladimir Klitschko (46) and the rest is pretty much history, with Fury proving the bookies wrong to come away the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
Since their last encounter, Chisora has fought a who's who of modern heavyweight boxing with mixed results.
Losses to Kubrat Pulev (41), Whyte, Usyk, and Joseph Parker (30) were interspersed with decent wins against the likes of Carlos Takam (41) and David Price (39), with some impressive knockouts thrown in to boot.
He was also victorious in his last outing, gaining revenge in a July rematch with Pulev that ended in a split decision for the Londoner.
Warm-up for a future Usyk bout
Realistically, Chisora stands little chance of dethroning Fury of his WBC heavyweight title. Yet stranger things have happened in the sport - just ask Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr (33).
"He comes and does exactly what it says on the tin - he goes to war," Fury said about Chisora in their promotional press conference.
"He has changed his name from 'Del Boy' to 'War' and we're going to get a war."
In truth, Fury is eyeing this fight firstly as a tune-up in preparation for a huge unification bout with Usyk down the line. And that is a match-up that fans will no doubt be clamouring to see as soon as possible.
Fury has previously stated that he wants to give something back to the British fans - claiming during the AJ negotiations that he'd happily "do it for free" and on free-to-air TV. This one will still take place on pay-per-view, and while it may not feel too box office in size, perhaps Fury feels that a trilogy fight with a popular, well-known name in Chisora is the best way to meet us in the middle before getting into the real matters at hand.
All the while, Anthony Joshua's camp has remained relatively quiet since the fiasco surrounding the Fury-Joshua negotiations. It remains to be seen where his future lies within the division after two humbling defeats to Usyk.
