Joshua, Fury Fight Hits Fresh Setback Over Promoter Dispute

Ayomikun Elemikan

September 28, 2026
3 min read
Anthony Joshua Tyson Fury

The highly anticipated all-British heavyweight clash between Tyson Fury and former world champion Anthony Joshua has hit a major stumbling block just days after its official announcement. The December 11 bout, scheduled for Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, is now in jeopardy due to a fierce dispute between rival promoters over the involvement of UFC President Dana White.

The fight, which ends years of failed negotiations, was confirmed on Thursday as a collaboration between Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh’s The Ring and Dana White, with global broadcasting rights secured by Netflix. However, this promotional arrangement has become a significant sticking point.

Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has been at odds with White for months and explicitly stated that the UFC boss’s involvement breaches their existing contract. The rivalry escalated following the launch of Zuffa Boxing earlier this year and White’s signing of former Matchroom fighter Conor Benn.

Speaking to IFL TV, Hearn insisted that White cannot be part of the promotion. “Dana White cannot be involved with this fight promotion. Netflix clearly did not get the memo. No one talks to each other,” Hearn stated. “Then Netflix say the fight is in conjunction with Dana White. Now we have to go through that process and deal with it. It is a little bit annoying, but as I have shown through the UK battle that we won, we stand by our contracts.”

In response to the contractual objections, Tyson Fury took to Instagram to accuse Hearn and Joshua of looking for excuses to pull out of the historic bout. The “Gypsy King” placed the blame squarely on Hearn’s shoulders, claiming his ego is jeopardizing the biggest fight in British boxing history.

“Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn are trying to pull out of this fight. They are saying they are not going to fight now,” Fury posted. “It is mainly to do with Eddie Hearn’s ego. He is making up a million different things and threatening that we are not going to fight. Now you have got Turki Alalshikh finding alternative real men who will fight at the drop of a hat. Eddie Hearn has cost us the biggest fight in boxing history”.

Conversely, Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, noted that White was instrumental in securing the lucrative Netflix deal after the fight was confirmed. Notably, neither Hearn nor Warren provided official statements in Netflix’s initial press release announcing the bout.

A press conference is reportedly penciled in for Wednesday in London, and both camps are expected to seek a swift resolution with fewer than 11 weeks remaining before the scheduled fight.

This is not the first time a Fury-Joshua bout has faced the threat of cancellation. The fight has survived several false starts since 2020, when both camps first agreed to a two-fight deal. Contracts for an undisputed heavyweight contest were signed in 2021, only for an arbitration ruling to force Fury into a third fight with American Deontay Wilder. Another attempt in 2022 also collapsed before the two heavyweights finally signed on for the Cardiff showdown earlier this year.