Joshua fight at risk over promoter row, says Fury

Tyson Fury has warned that the scheduled December 11 heavyweight bout with Anthony Joshua at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium may fall apart because of a disagreement between rival promoters. The fight, announced earlier this week, was set to be a collaboration between Saudi boxing figure Turki Alalshikh’s The Ring and UFC president Dana White, with Netflix slated to broadcast the event. Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, has objected to White’s involvement, asserting that it violates their existing agreement. Hearn has been publicly feuding with White since the launch of Zuffa Boxing earlier this year. Fury took to Instagram to express his frustration, writing: “Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn are trying to propulsion retired of this fight. They're saying they're not going to combat now,” He added, “It's chiefly to bash with Eddie Hearn's ego. He's making up a cardinal antithetic things and threatening we're not going to fight.” He continued, “Now you've got Turki Alalshikh uncovering alternate existent men who volition combat astatine the driblet of a hand. Eddie Hearn has outgo america the biggest combat successful boxing history.” Speaking to IFL TV, Hearn stated, “Dana White cannot be progressive with this combat promotion. Netflix intelligibly didn't get the memo. No-one talks to each other,” He further remarked, “Then Netflix accidental the combat is successful conjunction with Dana White. Now we person to spell done that process and woody with it. It's a small spot annoying but arsenic I've shown done the UK conflict that we won, we basal by our contracts.” Fury’s promoter, Frank Warner, noted that White played a key role in securing the Netflix agreement after the bout was confirmed. Fury’s earlier social‑media post had suggested that Joshua, 36, was withdrawing from the fight and had called for a third match‑up with Oleksandr Usyk. No official comment was provided by Hearn or Warner in the Netflix press release announcing the event. BBC Sport has reached out to Matchroom, Queensberry Promotions, The Ring and Netflix for clarification. The current impasse follows years of stalled negotiations. In 2020 the two camps agreed to a two‑fight deal; in 2021 contracts were signed for an undisputed heavyweight contest, only for Deontay Wilder’s arbitration lawsuit to force Fury into a third bout with the American. In 2022 Joshua accepted a 60‑40 split to face Fury, but that arrangement collapsed. Earlier this year both fighters signed contracts for the December 11 encounter, with the date and venue confirmed this week.