Tyson Fury says Cardiff showdown with Anthony Joshua is in doubt over promoters' feud

Tyson Fury says his proposed showdown with Anthony Joshua in Cardiff on 11 December is in doubt because of a dispute between rival promoters Eddie Hearn and Dana White. The fighters had agreed to the December date after the contest was announced last week.

Eddie Hearn, the Matchroom Sport chair, disputed Dana White’s involvement after White, the American UFC and Zuffa Boxing chief, was officially named as a promoter alongside The Ring, which is owned by the Saudi Arabian powerbroker Turki Alalshikh. Hearn and White have been at loggerheads for months amid a bitter disagreement over where the fight should take place. Fury has said Joshua’s long-term promoter is the reason the bout is now in jeopardy.

Fury issued a public rebuke of Joshua and Hearn, saying: "Breaking news. Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn are trying to pull out of this fight. They’re saying they’re not gonna fight now. "It’s mainly to do with Eddie Hearn’s ego. He’s making up a million different things and threatening ‘we’re not gonna fight, we’re not gonna fight, we’re not gonna fight’. He’s cost us the biggest fight in boxing history. Clown." Multiple attempts to arrange the highest grossing event in British boxing history have failed, most notably in 2021 when Deontay Wilder used arbitration to force a trilogy fight with Fury when Fury had a signed contract with Joshua.

Months of wrangling saw Croke Park, Wembley and Madison Square Garden come under consideration, before Cardiff’s Principality Stadium emerged as the successful venue for this latest attempt to resurrect the meeting, which finally appeared on Thursday. The negotiations over locations have been a central element of the promoter dispute.

Fury also suggested alternative opponents are being lined up for Joshua, saying: "AJ, pull your finger out you little coward. Now I’m coming home. "The Gypsy King is coming back to the United Kingdom to thrash you in front of all my fans in Wales, you absolute little nugget, bodybuilding sausage. "Now you’re making a million excuses. Now you’ve got Turki Alalshikh finding alternative real men who will fight at the drop of a hat."

A press conference at which the pair are due to face off is scheduled in London on Wednesday. The Press Association has contacted Matchroom for comment.