Hearn insists Fury-Joshua in the UK will go ahead and says contract is signed

On 22 August 2026 promoter Eddie Hearn said a proposed heavyweight meeting between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, planned to be staged in the United Kingdom, cannot be stopped and that the parties have finalised paperwork. Hearn told DAZN: "We've signed the contract, we're waiting for a date," while Fury had said on Friday the fight was unlikely to happen.

Fury and Joshua had been expected to meet in November in what organisers and observers have described as one of the biggest fights in British boxing history. Joshua and his promoter Hearn say they have signed for the bout to be held in the United Kingdom, but Saudi organisers Sela are pressing for the event to take place in the United States. Joshua and Fury also each hold separate contracts with Sela.

New York's Madison Square Garden is understood to be Sela's preferred venue because the organisers want to cater for American audiences, and the fight is scheduled to be broadcast on Netflix. Those commercial and venue preferences sit alongside the agreements already struck by Joshua and his promoter for a UK staging.

Responding to public comments from Fury, Hearn told DAZN: "You saw Tyson Fury shouting and screaming ... there's nothing to shout and scream about, the fight's done," and added, "The fight's signed. No-one can pull out of the fight. You can't just pull out of a contract." He further said: "There's no suggestion that the fight's not happening, no-one can stop this fight from happening. The only way it can stop from happening is if they actually breach the contract."

On the issue of relocating the bout, Hearn said: "We know everybody and his dog involved in the fight wants to do the fight in America. We don't," and added: "We've told Sela and the team 'if you want to do it in America, these are the terms that we can move forward with. But we'd rather not please'."

Hearn reiterated that the contract has been signed and that the parties are awaiting a date, with the fight having been expected in November.