Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua is official for Friday, December 11 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, and Dana White’s name is on the announcement. Turki Alalshikh confirmed the date and venue Thursday, with the fight streaming live on Netflix at no additional cost to subscribers.
The official release states that Alalshikh’s The Ring and White will collaborate to promote the event. That runs straight into the line Eddie Hearn held for most of September.
Alalshikh posted the poster on X with the tagline “Years in the making. One night to settle it.” In the release, he called it “one of the biggest fights in boxing history,” adding, “I am very happy to make this fight happen for the fans.”
Hearn’s Red Line Gets Crossed
Speaking to reporters in Dublin after the Katie Taylor vs. Flora Pili press conference earlier this month, Hearn said Joshua’s contract left no room for Zuffa Boxing. Asked whether White’s company would be involved, he answered, “No, or else there will be no fight and we’ll just keep going.”
Hearn insisted that stance came from his fighter. “So, the responses in the addendum are not ‘Eddie Hearn’s wishes’; they’re Anthony Joshua’s wishes,” he said. That followed his claim that TKO went around him to offer Joshua more money for New York.
White now has a quote in the release. He said fans have been “clamoring” for the fight for more than a decade and pointed out that the two men bring “66 wins, 52 knockouts and multiple heavyweight world titles into the ring,” adding that the winner will take a significant place in heavyweight history.
Joshua still got the venue fight he wanted. Sela and Netflix had pushed for Madison Square Garden, but Joshua’s deal called for the UK, and Hearn repeatedly said the bout would not happen in America. Wembley fell away over its curfew, and ring walks in Cardiff are expected after midnight to suit the U.S. audience.
Where Fury And Joshua Stand
Fury (36-2-1, 25 KOs) came out of retirement in April to outpoint Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, then stopped Mariusz Wach in seven rounds in Thailand in July. Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) knocked out Jake Paul on Netflix last December and beat Kristian Prenga in July. Neither man holds a world title.
Joshua has won twice at Principality Stadium, stopping Carlos Takam in 2017 and outpointing Joseph Parker in 2018.
The two meet face to face at a press conference on Tuesday, September 30 at the British Airways Arc in London. The undercard hasn’t been announced, though Manny Pacquiao and Shakur Stevenson are reportedly in talks for a spot on the show.
