Eddie Hearn has pushed back hard on reports that Anthony Joshua has agreed to fight Tyson Fury, calling the claim “completely untrue” and confirming no deal is in place for the long-awaited all-British heavyweight showdown.
The denial came after talkSPORT’s Gareth A Davies reported over the weekend that the fight is “agreed” and set to stream on Netflix — a claim that also clashed with Joshua’s existing broadcast partnership with DAZN.
Completely untrue. There is absolutely nothing signed with Anthony Joshua to fight Tyson Fury next. There is nothing agreed,” Hearn told The Stomping Ground. “There have been conversations — deep conversations prior to the accident — but since then, there have been no real conversations about that fight.
Car Crash Derailed 2026 Plans
The original roadmap had Joshua returning in March before facing Fury later in the year. Those plans collapsed after Joshua was involved in a fatal car crash in Lagos, Nigeria, on December 29, which claimed the lives of two of his close friends and teammates, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.
Hearn confirmed to Boxing Scene that the revised plan has Joshua targeting a comeback in July or late summer, though he cautioned that a return date depends on when “AJ” gets back into training camp.
Physically he’s not yet in a position to return to camp,” Hearn said. “We’ll only know if July is a real possibility when he returns to camp, which will hopefully be in the next couple of weeks or a month.
The promoter has also walked back the certainty around a Fury fight happening at all. Speaking to Yahoo Sport, Hearn admitted there are “no guarantees” Joshua fights again, and acknowledged he doesn’t know whether Joshua vs. Fury will “ever happen right now” — a marked shift from the confident timeline he was projecting before the accident.
Fury Fights April 11, Joshua Door Still Open
Fury, meanwhile, returns on April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against hard-hitting contender Arslanbek Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs), live on Netflix. The fight marks Fury’s first bout on British soil in nearly four years and his comeback from a self-declared retirement.
Hearn stopped short of closing the door on Joshua-Fury entirely.
We’re open to the Fury fight,” he said, “but probably more likely end of the year — maybe early 2027.
He also noted that Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh remains the key figure in brokering any deal, saying Joshua’s side has accepted a framework but that the Fury negotiations are out of their hands.
It’s Turki Alalshikh’s responsibility to talk to Tyson Fury and try to make the deal,” Hearn said. “Is the fight made? No. Because I don’t know where he’s at with Tyson Fury.
