Promoter Frank Warren believes Tyson Fury will fight again before he is scheduled to face Anthony Joshua.
Fury, 37, returned to the ring after almost 18 months out to defeat Arslanbek Makhmudov over 12 rounds on April 11 and is supposed to be fighting Joshua in the final quarter of 2026.
The 36-year-old Joshua, meanwhile, is set for a July 25 fight in Saudi Arabia against little-known New Jersey-based Albanian Kristian Prenga.
Asked if Fury might wait until November for Joshua, Warren said he anticipated Fury would take a fight before then.
“I think he will probably want to be doing something in between, let’s see,” said the Hall of Fame promoter.
“AJ has got his fight. Tyson, I’m quite sure will have a fight in between, that’s what he’s asking for and we’ll see where we go from there.”
Fury, 35-2-1 (24 KOs), had previously hoped that a bout with Joshua, 29-4 (26 KOs) would immediately follow his largely one-sided win over Makhmudov. He called out "AJ', who was sitting ringside at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, after Turki Alalshikh had teased that the fight was already signed and sealed. Joshua all but refused, however.
It had always been Joshua's intention to have a warm-up bout for Fury after surviving a tragic car accident in December that killed two of his closest friends.
Despite saying it was 'Joshua next or no one', it would now appear that Fury too will engage in an interim bout.
Though contracts have been signed to deliver the long-awaited Fury-Joshua showdown, it still feels like there's a long way to go before it becomes a reality.
