Tyson Fury’s threat that his long-awaited showdown with Anthony Joshua “doesn’t look like it’s going to happen” landed like a jab to the solar plexus for British boxing fans this week, but the sport’s grapevine suggests the fight is, in fact, closer than the WBC veteran’s social media outburst implied.
Fury’s comments, posted on social media and picked up by BBC Sport on Friday, accused Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua of stalling the deal over money rather than location.
He branded the pair “disgusting” and “money-thirsty” and suggested Joshua lacked the nerve to get in the ring with him at all. It was vintage Fury: theatrical, incendiary, and, as has so often been the case with this rivalry over the past decade, not necessarily the full picture.
The dispute traces back to a straightforward but expensive problem: the contract both men signed earlier this year, reportedly brokered with Saudi backer Turki Alalshikh, committed the fight to a UK staging.
Hearn has repeatedly and pointedly reminded the boxing world of that fact, telling Sky Sports that Matchroom is simply following the terms of what was signed when the fight was announced in the spring.
Since then, however, the commercial gravity of the deal has shifted west. UFC boss Dana White, who helped broker the television and venue arrangements, has confirmed his involvement but says the final call rests with the two fighters themselves.
Netflix, which holds the broadcast rights, is understood to be pushing hard for a fight timed to a US primetime slot rather than the small hours of a British morning, a scheduling headache that has repeatedly been cited as the practical driver behind the push for Madison Square Garden.
Wembley’s curfew has become one of the more mundane but stubborn obstacles. The stadium’s 11 pm weekend cut-off would require special dispensation from Brent Council and London’s mayor, given that a fight timed for a global and especially American audience would likely need to run into the early hours.
For Joshua’s side, the objection isn’t sentimental; it’s financial. Hearn has argued that shifting the bout from the UK carries real tax consequences for Joshua, potentially leaving the two-time former world champion worse off despite the higher-profile American venue. Fury’s camp, by contrast, has framed any resistance to New York as simple greed.
Despite the public sniping, multiple reports over the past several days suggest the sides are edging toward or may have already reached an agreement.
Daily Mail Sport has reported that both fighters signed contracts after the venue dispute was resolved, with an official announcement expected before the end of August, possibly staged at a well-known British landmark.
Under that reported deal, the fight would move to Madison Square Garden for a targeted date of Friday, November 20, a night chosen specifically to avoid competing with college football on Saturday and NFL fixtures on Sunday, while delivering Netflix an American primetime headline act.
Not everyone is convinced the paperwork is settled. Matchroom chief executive Frank Smith struck a more cautious tone this week, telling Sky Sports that while there have been suggestions and discussions about a New York move, the promotion is currently still operating under the UK terms agreed back in the spring.
Forbes has similarly reported that Matchroom is treating any switch to New York as leverage, seeking compensation covering Joshua’s tax exposure, travel, and media obligations rather than simply waving the fight through.
New York carries its own subplot for Joshua. His previous appearance at Madison Square Garden, in 2019, ended in one of the most jarring upsets in modern heavyweight history, as Andy Ruiz Jr floored him four times before the fight was stopped in the seventh round.
A win over Fury on that same stage would go a long way toward rewriting the venue’s place in his career narrative.
Neither man currently holds a share of the four major heavyweight belts. Oleksandr Usyk has beaten both of them and unified the division in the years since this fight was first mooted, but the commercial appeal of two era-defining British heavyweights finally settling their rivalry remains, by most estimates, undimmed.
For now, the official word from all parties is that nothing is confirmed. Dana White, asked directly this week whether the bout would land at Madison Square Garden, declined to give a definitive answer, saying only that a fight requires both boxers to actually want it.
Whether Fury’s latest outburst was genuine frustration, a negotiating tactic, or simply Fury being Fury, the coming days with an announcement reportedly targeted before the end of August should finally settle the question that has dogged British boxing for the better part of ten years: not just whether Fury and Joshua will fight, but where.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The venue standoff was never really about location; it was about money and leverage. Joshua’s UK contract gave Hearn negotiating power, and Fury’s public anger was pressure to force a resolution.
That pressure appears to have worked: reports now indicate both sides have signed off on Madison Square Garden for November 20, with an announcement expected imminently.
Despite the public drama, this fight looks like it’s actually happening, just not in Britain.
