Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury contract states venue must be in UK, says Eddie Hearn
Jun 10, 2026 • 10:43 AM ET
Mark Robinson / Goldstar PromotionsIt was never going to be a smooth ride to get to Anthony Joshua versus Tyson Fury. Though contracts have been signed for the British rivals to at last fight late in 2026, likely November, little else has been confirmed.
Both have interim fights to negotiate. Joshua, 29-4 (26 KOs), will take on the unheralded Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia on July 25 and, though not yet announced, the 35-2-1 (24 KOs) Fury is expected to warm-up for Joshua in August with Nelson Hysa the latest opponent to be linked to the "Gypsy King".
Presuming both win, and then decide to move forward with the current arrangement, it just leaves the not-so-small matter of where it will take place to decide. There is also squabbling about who the official promoter of the event really is.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua's longtime promoter, found himself under fire from Dana White last weekend. The Zuffa Boxing boss suggested that it is he, and not Hearn or Fury's promoter Frank Warren, who is pulling the most important strings behind the scenes alongside financier Turki Alalshikh.
"Have they announced where that fight is? No. I know where it is," White said in Bournemouth following Chris Billam-Smith's victory over Ryan Rozicki on Zuffa's debut UK show. "Call Eddie right now and ask him if he knows where the fight is. Call Eddie and ask him who negotiated the contract for the fight. It wasn't him."
There have since been suggestions that the fight will take place in the US and not the UK, with BoxingScene reporting Tuesday that initial conversations have occurred that could see the battle land in SiFo Stadium in Los Angeles. BoxingScene also understands that Las Vegas, specifically the MGM Grand, is also consideration. It would seem, however, that options are being kept open at this stage rather than final decisions being made.
Hearn, who has guided Joshua since day one of his professional career, last week told BoxingScene that the fight could take place in the US due to less volatile weather conditions than the UK late in the year. But today he indicated that for the fight to be hosted by an American venue, certain terms on the signed contracts would need to change.
"There has been some murmuring of the fight taking place in the US," Hearn told BoxingScene. "The contract specifically states that the fight must take place in the UK.
"Right now there is no official confirmation."
Matt Christie, a lifelong fight fan, has worked in boxing for more than 20 years. He left Boxing News in 2024 after 14 years, nine of which were spent as editor-in-chief. Before that, he was the producer of weekly boxing show “KOTV.” Now the co-host of “The Opening Bell” podcast and regularly used in the UK as a pundit, Matt was named as the Specialist Correspondent of the Year at the prestigious Sports Journalism Awards in 2021, which was the seventh SJA Award he accepted during his stint in the hot seat at Boxing News. The following year, he was inducted into the British Boxing Hall of Fame. He is a member of the BWAA and has been honored several times in their annual writing awards.
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
