Joshua vs Fury: The Fight Nobody Can Agree On
Tyson Fury says his long-awaited fight with Anthony Joshua is off. He is now calling for a third bout against Oleksandr Usyk instead. Central Fife Times
That claim, made on 6 September, lands just as fresh details emerge about the tangled negotiations behind the scenes. Saudi promoter Sela is funding the prospective fight, with both Joshua and Fury having signed separate contracts with the company. BBC Sport
But Joshua's contract contains a specific stipulation: the fight must take place in the UK. That clause has sent his promoter, Eddie Hearn, back to the negotiating table to work out the details. Sela and broadcaster Netflix, meanwhile, are understood to favour New York's Madison Square Garden as the venue. BBC Sport
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has publicly appealed for the fight to happen at Wembley Stadium, telling BBC Sport on Thursday that hosting it in London would draw a large live and global television audience. BBC Sport understands Sela contacted the mayor's office in recent weeks about staging the bout at Wembley, but talks had not progressed since the previous week. BBC Sport
Hearn had said he hoped an announcement could come in the next week. That now seems unlikely, given the latest developments and Fury's own declaration that the fight is off. BBC Sport
Fury's pivot back to Usyk is not new. His promoter, Frank Warren, confirmed as far back as October 2025 that Fury intended to return to boxing in 2026 and that a third fight with Usyk was the one he really wanted. Fury told Warren he wants to fight the Ukrainian again because he wants to be the best. Yahoo Sports
Usyk, for his part, has predicted that Joshua would beat Fury if the fight happens. He even offered to help Joshua in training. Sports Illustrated
For fans, the situation is a familiar kind of frustration. Two British heavyweights who have circled each other for years remain separated not by skill or willingness, but by venue clauses, promoter preferences, and a fighter who keeps looking the other way.
The wrinkle is that nobody has definitively cancelled anything. Hearn is still renegotiating. Khan is still lobbying. Sela is still, apparently, interested in Wembley. Fury has a history of walking away from fights only to return to the table when the numbers shift. Whether this is the end of the road or another bend in it may depend on how the coming week plays out.
