Anthony Joshua Vs Tyson Fury Fight Faces Fresh Dispute

The proposed heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury has hit fresh trouble, with promoter Frank Warren warning that the fight could be postponed if the two camps fail to agree on where it should take place.

Warren, who promotes Fury through Queensberry, remains confident the long-awaited Battle of Britain will happen in November, despite the continuing disagreement over the venue.

Wembley Stadium had been the leading option, but a dispute over the proposed start time has seen Madison Square Garden in New York emerge as the preferred alternative.

Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh is understood to favour New York because of its potential to attract a larger global audience.

However, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has threatened to abandon the fight if the New York venue is announced without an agreement to move the contest away from the United Kingdom.

Hearn has maintained that Joshua’s camp remains committed to staging the bout in Britain under the terms of their existing contract.

He also warned that any unilateral decision to announce New York as the venue would bring the fight to an end.

Responding to Hearn’s position, Warren told Box Nation that Fury’s contract gives his camp a different understanding of the arrangements and insisted the fight could still go ahead.

“Tyson Fury has his agreement, which states something different. The fight will happen,” Warren said.

He added: “They’re either going to agree to it or not. If they don’t agree to it, then the fight won’t happen.”

Warren said Fury signed his agreement for the contest in January, when the bout was initially targeted for September. The fight was later pushed back after a proposed warm-up contest was scrapped following the serious accident in which Joshua lost two close friends.

Both fighters have since returned to action in preparation for the proposed meeting. Fury defeated Mariusz Wach in Thailand by seventh-round corner retirement, while Joshua recovered from being knocked down twice in the opening round against Kristian Prenga in Jeddah before stopping the previously little-known contender in the second.

November remains the target for the Joshua vs Fury blockbuster, but the unresolved venue dispute has now become a serious obstacle.

With Hearn unwilling to accept a move to New York without an agreement and Warren insisting Fury’s side expects the fight to proceed, the promoters still have significant ground to cover before the biggest all-British heavyweight clash in years can be finalised.