CARDIFF, Wales — Just days after boxing fans finally received confirmation that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua would meet in one of the biggest fights in British boxing history, the drama has already begun.
Fury claimed Saturday that Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn are threatening to withdraw from their December 11 heavyweight showdown at Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
Joshua’s camp, however, reportedly maintains that it expects the fight to proceed as scheduled and has no current plans to withdraw. That leaves boxing with an uncomfortable question: How did Fury-Joshua go from officially announced to publicly disputed in roughly 48 hours?
The answer may have less to do with Fury and Joshua than with the powerful figures surrounding them.
Fury Accuses Hearn of Threatening the Fight
Netflix officially announced Thursday that Fury and Joshua will finally meet December 11, seemingly ending months of negotiations over the date and location.
By Saturday, Fury was telling a completely different story. “Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn are trying to pull out of this fight,” Fury said in a video posted to Instagram. “They’re saying they’re not going to fight now.”
Fury placed much of the blame directly on Hearn. “It’s mainly to do with Eddie Hearn’s ego,” Fury said. “He’s making up a million different things and threatening we’re not going to fight.”
Fury then claimed Turki Alalshikh was already exploring potential replacement opponents. “Now you’ve got Turki Alalshikh finding alternative real men who will fight at the drop of a hat,” Fury said. “Eddie Hearn has cost us the biggest fight in boxing history.” Those are Fury’s claims.
Joshua’s side is presenting a different version. Sources close to Joshua’s camp told The Athletic that the expectation remains that Joshua will fight Fury and that there are no plans at this stage to withdraw from the event.
That distinction is important. As things currently stand, Fury-Joshua remains scheduled for December 11.
Is Dana White the Real Problem?
The increasingly fascinating part of the situation involves UFC CEO and Zuffa Boxing figurehead Dana White. Netflix’s announcement stated that Alalshikh’s The Ring and White would collaborate on promoting Fury-Joshua.
Hearn apparently has a major problem with that arrangement. “Even Netflix put out a press release [saying] the fight will be in conjunction with Dana White,” Hearn told iFL TV. “There’s loads of battles to come on that because that ain’t happening either.”
Then Hearn made his position unmistakable. “Dana White cannot be involved with this fight promotion. Netflix clearly didn’t get the memo.”
That statement provides important context to Fury’s accusations. White and Hearn have publicly clashed as White has expanded his influence in professional boxing through Zuffa Boxing. Now those competing interests have collided around perhaps the biggest British boxing event imaginable.
Boxing Politics Can’t Be Allowed to Overshadow Fury-Joshua
There is too much history attached to this fight for the promotional story to become bigger than the fighters. Fury and Joshua are the defining British heavyweights of their generation. Both became two-time heavyweight champions and rebuilt their careers. For more than a decade, their names have been connected.
They are finally scheduled to settle the argument inside a boxing ring. The involvement of Alalshikh, White, Hearn, Netflix and The Ring demonstrates the enormous commercial significance surrounding the event, but it also creates competing business interests that must be managed.
Hearn clearly doesn’t want White involved in promoting Joshua. White’s involvement has already been publicly announced. Fury is now accusing Hearn of threatening to derail the entire event because of it. Joshua’s camp says the fight is still expected to happen. Those positions will have to be reconciled.
Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury Finally Set for December 11 in Cardiff
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Robert LaMar is a Deputy Editor for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
