Anthony Joshua’s management company say that they have accepted terms for a fight with Tyson Fury at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on December 3. 

258 Management tweeted that they accepted terms last Friday but that it was agreed to halt all communications due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II. 

Last week, Fury, the WBC champion, had given Joshua, the two-time WBA, WBO and IBF champion, 24 hours to accept terms for a fight, offering him the short end of 60-40 on all takings for a fight on November 24 or December 3, with a rematch clause that would be on a 50-50 basis. 

Joshua, who lost his rematch to Oleksandr Usyk in Jeddah on August 20, had originally asked for December 17. 

“258 and Matchroom Boxing can confirm, on behalf of Anthony Joshua, that we accepted all terms presented to us by Fury’s team for a fight Dec 3rd last Friday. Due to the Queen’s passing, it was agreed to halt all communication. We are awaiting a response,” the 258 management Tweet read. 

A reply came within moments from Frank Warren’s Twitter account: “Contract will be with you very soon.” 

December 17 had been the date originally targeted for an undisputed world heavyweight title fight between Fury and Usyk, a fight that would be expected to take place in Saudi Arabia. But when Usyk said that he would not be ready to box this year, Fury made it clear that he wanted to box before the end of the year. 

Warren, Fury’s promoter, said that they wanted to go in November or early December to increase the possibility of an Usyk fight happening in February or March.  

Saudi Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud has said they want to stage the undisputed title fight in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, at an outdoor stadium, meaning it could not take place during summer when temperatures are extreme, with daytime temperatures in the mid-40s and remaining in the mid-30s at night. 

A date of December 10 would not be possible as that evening would likely mean a clash with England playing in the quarter-finals of the football World Cup. 

That the plans for a fight have gone this far will be seen as a surprise by many, with Fury’s initial social media offer to Joshua widely being seen as not serious. 

Whether the offer was serious or not, Joshua accepted. He was being lined up for a series of comeback fights and possibly a world tour by his promoter, Eddie Hearn, while Fury had engaged in cross words on social media with former WBA champion Mahmoud Charr, hinting that the German-based Syrian would be his next opponent. 

Joshua has boxed twice at the Principality Stadium, beating Carlos Takam and Joseph Parker in consecutive fights in 2017 and 2018. The stadium is unavailable in November when in stages four Wales rugby union matches. 

Ron Lewis is a senior writer for BoxingScene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 - covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.