Hearn Keeps Fighting To Keep Fury vs. Joshua In The UK

Matchroom chairman, Eddie Hearn, disagrees with the notion that New York City is the biggest market for the prospective heavyweight fight between Anthony Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs)  and Tyson Fury (36-2-1, 25 KOs).

The two Brits have circled one another for more than a decade. After separate world title reigns, and with each having their own comeback this year, they appear close to competing in 2026 if it weren’t for one stumbling block — the location.

Joshua and Fury are both British. And Hearn, who is Joshua’s England-based promoter, has spoken of his desire for the fight to remain in the country, rather than get outsourced to other territories, specifically, the United States.

“We are desperate to deliver this fight for UK fans,” said Hearn. “However, everybody else wants the fight in America: Turki Alalshikh, Netflix. I can’t speak on behalf of Tyson Fury; I don’t see him kicking up a fuss. Madison Square Garden. So, they’re telling us this is the place it’s going to do the biggest numbers, this is the place it’ll be the biggest fight.”

Fury cut short his fifth retirement from fighting when he returned to the ring in April in London with a unanimous decision win over Arslanbek Makhmudov in April. Three months later, he scored a seventh-round retirement over Mariusz Wach in Thailand. Around that time, Joshua had a comeback of his own, fighting for the first time in 2026 when he climbed off the canvas to finish Kristian Prenga in the second round of a bout in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Hearn said he disagrees with Alalshikh and Netflix that the fight should take place in New York City. Joshua’s current contract for the fight, Hearn said previously, states the bout must take place in Britain.

“We’ll fight to a point where they’ve breached the contract by doing it in America,” he said, “Or we come to an agreement.”