Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua: Hearn Insists on U.K. Fight

Eddie Hearn is digging in. Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua, he insists, belongs in Britain – and no amount of American money or Dana White pressure is going to move it.

The long-awaited all-British heavyweight showdown has drifted in limbo for months, with White recently branding the stalled situation “the weirdest thing ever” and accusing Hearn’s side of blocking progress. The UFC boss has pushed to drag the fight to a major U.S. venue. Hearn’s response? The deal is already done. The only question, in his view, is whether people respect the signatures on it.

“Just honor the contract”

From Hearn’s side, there is nothing left to negotiate. The Matchroom chief says he and Joshua simply want the original agreement – a U.K. fight, signed and sealed – to be carried out.

“Dana White says we are the only one upsetting this fight,” Hearn told iFL TV. “Dana White has tried to get involved in a fight that he has nothing to do with and to get Sela to break their contract, scrap a British fight, and bring it to America. He thinks that he’s not causing a problem in this fight? All we have ever done is said, ‘We’ve signed our contract. Just honor the contract that we’ve signed.’”

The crux of the standoff is location. Fury and Joshua, both coming off wins over Mariusz Wach and Kristian Prenga respectively, are on course for a blockbuster meeting Ring Magazine has pencilled in for late 2026. But the venue – and with it, the identity of the powerbrokers around the event – has become the real battleground.

Hearn paints Joshua as the immovable object. According to him, Joshua has already turned down significantly more money to fight in America, refusing to abandon the U.K. staging they originally agreed.

“He cares where the fight is. He cares about British boxing, and he cares about the contract that he signed,” Hearn said. “And Dana White thinks you can throw a little bit of money at someone and they’ll dance to your f*cking tune. Well, guess what? Not on A.J.’s watch. That is why, unfortunately for these people, the fight will not be taking place in America, because Anthony Joshua is not a sellout.”

Money on the table – and left there

The promoter insists this is not about him blocking White or the U.S. – it’s about Joshua’s stance, and the public mood behind it.

“Anthony Joshua could have taken many millions more to do the fight in America and it was totally on him,” Hearn said. “‘Forget Eddie Hearn. What do I want? I want this fight in Britain.’”

Hearn is blunt about the financial reality: when Joshua earns more, so does he. That, he argues, makes a mockery of accusations that his push for a British venue is “fake patriotism.”

“You call me, you say I’m mad about money, you’re saying it’s the only thing I care about, yet when I want to do the fight in Britain, it’s ‘fake patriotism.’ I thought I was crazy about money. What is it?”

What has stiffened their resolve, Hearn says, is the noise from fans. The reaction on social media – his and Joshua’s – has only made them more determined to keep the fight on home soil.

“We’re not trying to hurt the fight. We signed a contract. The whole thing’s crazy,” he said. “What they’re now doing is they’re sulking because they can’t be involved, and because Dana White went out and told everybody, ‘I know where the fight is. You’ll see, you’ll see, you’ll see.’”

Hearn is adamant: “It’s done.” The line that sticks with him, he says, is one he’s used before. “We are not the same. And I promise you one thing, we are not the same.”

U.K. or bust

Behind the scenes, the picture is still fluid. There is no confirmed date, no official venue, no formal announcement. But Hearn insists the only “discussions” taking place now are about delivering the already-agreed U.K. fight, not reopening the terms.

“We got to a situation, we set out some terms where it might be able to agree,” he explained. “The money that we discussed, ultimately, probably was deliverable, was agreed.”

At one stage, Hearn admits, the pressure to take the fight to America was intense enough that a new addendum was floated. As those talks rumbled on, Joshua watched the reaction from British fans – and, Hearn says, that was decisive.

“He turned around to me with the two offers on the table and said, ‘No, I just want to stick to the original contract. I want to do this fight in the U.K.’”

From that moment, Hearn says, the U.S. push hit a wall. “Obviously, everyone went crazy, they threw their toys out the pram, certain people. They couldn’t believe that A.J. was standing firm on the U.K.”

Accusations followed that Hearn was only digging in to keep Dana White out of the picture. Hearn’s answer is simple: Joshua calls the shots.

“I don’t give a f*ck. A.J. makes the decisions. And people say, ‘A.J. turned down more money to do it in the U.S. because he wanted to do it in the U.K.’ Yes. I’m not going to lie to you, that’s exactly what happened.”

Principality, Wembley – and Netflix waiting

While the fight’s framework is set, the stage is not. Hearn confirms that discussions have been ongoing with Netflix and Sela, and that he believes they are “in a great position to move forward.” The final word, though, will come from Turki Alalshikh, who is expected to make an official announcement once the details are locked in.

Hearn hopes that announcement lands within a week and that it confirms what the British public wants to hear: Fury vs Joshua in the U.K.

If it does, he predicts “unbelievable celebrations” and even jokes that Joshua “should be knighted in the process.”

As for the stadium, Hearn admits a personal preference for Principality Stadium in Cardiff, but recognises the global pull of Wembley Stadium in London. Both are on the table. Both would be seismic.

Wherever it lands, Hearn wants one thing to be crystal clear: this is Joshua’s call.

“The reason that I’m doing this is because I want the fight in the U.K., but my instructions from Anthony Joshua are make sure this fight is in the U.K.,” he said. “You cannot underestimate the noise and the patriotism and the support of people online. And Turki sees that. I think Turki’s now probably excited by the reaction from the British fans to bring this fight to the U.K.”

Hearn does not hide who he believes has been driving the push to take the fight across the Atlantic.

“Dana White is the guy, Nick Khan is the guy that have tried desperately to bring this fight to the U.S. and not to stage this fight in the U.K. You’ve seen his comments, Dana White does not want this fight in the U.K., so that’s been the big problem,” Hearn said.

He believes that resistance is finally breaking.

“We’ve stayed firm against everybody—this is massive in the U.K. and it will be. We get this fight over the line for the U.K., wait until you see the reaction. It could be the biggest sporting event ever in the U.K. We know it’s the biggest fight ever.”