Madison Square Garden is the frontrunner to host Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. Joshua’s promoter says a contract makes that impossible.
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reported on X that the fight is almost certain to land in the United States, with the Garden out in front and Netflix having steered the process. He wrote that Netflix has targeted a few Friday night dates, and followed up to say November 20 is the target, with a Friday chosen so the card does not run into college football the following day.
Eddie Hearn has a different account. Speaking on talkSPORT Boxing, he said Joshua insisted on a clause in the contract requiring the fight to be staged in Britain.
I’ve seen all the reports, you know, November 20th, Madison Square Garden. I kind of feel like right now me and AJ are kind of like the last two standing on the hill waving the Union Jack. Anthony Joshua made me insert a clause into the contract that said the fight must happen in the UK. So, at the moment, it can’t happen anywhere else.
He was blunt about the pressure and about how Matchroom intends to answer it.
We’re under a lot of pressure. Turki Alalshikh, Netflix, sounds like Tyson Fury. It sounds like everybody’s agreed they want to do this fight at Madison Square Garden. We don’t. We want to make it so financially unviable for them to change the contract that they’ve got no choice but to do it in the UK.
I honestly don’t know how it’s going to play out. All I can tell you is I can assure you that myself and Anthony are saying it just doesn’t make sense. We wouldn’t have signed this contract under its terms if this said the fight was in America. So why should we change it now?
Fury has not been briefed either. Asked after stopping Mariusz Wach in seven rounds last month, he said he expected the next fight to be signed soon and that he would go wherever he was told.
The commercial logic for New York is straightforward. A Friday night in Manhattan puts the fight in American prime time and reaches Netflix’s most valuable market at the best hour, where a Wembley card lands in the afternoon for US viewers. The Garden has staged title fights involving Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson.
Contracts were signed months ago and the fight is set for November. Where it happens is still unresolved.
