Joshua, Fury fight hits stumbling block News

The proposed heavyweight blockbuster between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury has run into fresh turbulence, with promoter Frank Warren admitting the fight could be postponed unless the two camps reach an agreement over its venue, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Warren, who promotes Fury under the Queensberry banner, remains confident that the so-called Battle of Britain will still go ahead as planned in November, despite unresolved questions over where the contest will be staged.

Wembley Stadium had initially been the frontrunner to host the bout, but an issue over the proposed start time has since pushed Madison Square Garden in New York to the front of the queue, with Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh understood to favour the American venue on the grounds that it would reach a wider global audience.

The development comes only days after Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said that he would call off the fight altogether should organisers proceed to announce New York as the venue without first securing an agreement to move the bout from the United Kingdom. Hearn insisted then that he and Joshua remained committed to staging the fight on home soil in line with their existing contract, and warned that any unilateral announcement of a New York venue would end the bout entirely.

Responding to those comments, Warren told Box Nation that Fury’s own contractual position differed from the account given by Hearn’s camp, and insisted the fight remained on track regardless of the disagreement.

“Tyson Fury has his agreement, which states something different. The fight will happen,” Warren said, before addressing the standoff directly.

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

Warren explained that Fury signed for the contest as far back as January, when the bout had originally been pencilled in for September before being pushed back. He said a planned warm-up fight for that month was scrapped following the serious accident in which Joshua lost two close friends, a setback that delayed preparations for the wider Fury bout.

Warren maintained that November remained the target date, with confirmation of the venue still to come.

Both men have since returned to action in tune-up fights. Fury beat Mariusz Wach in a low-key contest in Thailand, winning by seventh-round corner retirement, while Joshua overcame a difficult start against previously unknown contender Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, recovering from being floored twice in the opening round to stop his opponent in the second.

With Hearn maintaining that Joshua’s camp would rather make a move to New York financially unattractive to organisers than accept the switch, and Warren insisting Fury’s side sees the fight proceeding regardless of venue, the two promoters remain some distance from resolving the issue that now threatens to delay one of the biggest fights British boxing has produced in years.