Frank Warren expects Fury–Joshua fight to proceed despite Fury’s withdrawal claim

Tyson Fury has accused Anthony Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn of trying to pull out of their announced December fight in Cardiff, casting doubt on a bout that Frank Warren, Fury’s longtime promoter, says he still expects to happen. Fury’s claim has not been independently established. A Matchroom Sport spokesperson gave the Guardian no comment when asked about it.

The accusation came on 26 September, a day after Netflix announced that the two British heavyweights would meet at Principality Stadium. It puts renewed uncertainty around a contest discussed for more than a decade and repeatedly delayed, according to the Guardian.

What Fury and Warren said

Fury said on Saturday morning that Joshua and Hearn were ‘trying to pull out’ and alleged that Hearn was threatening not to fight because of a dispute over the promotion. Those are Fury’s allegations. Neither a withdrawal by Joshua or Hearn nor a cancellation of the bout has been established in the available reporting.

Warren told the Guardian he thought the fight would still happen because Saudi backers were providing the money and, in his view, would take legal action if it fell through. His comment is a prediction about what the backers might do; the reporting does not establish a contractual penalty or a filed case. Warren also said he expected both fighters at the first official press conference, scheduled for 30 September. Their attendance had not been confirmed.

The Cardiff announcement

Netflix’s announcement set the event for Friday, 11 December, at Principality Stadium in Cardiff and said it would stream live to members globally at no additional cost. The announcement named The Ring and White as collaborators in promoting it. Netflix said the undercard had yet to be announced and that Fury and Joshua had never met in a professional fight.

Cardiff Rugby also said the stadium would host the Fury–Joshua bout on 11 December. Its Champions Cup match against Bath remains scheduled for Saturday, 12 December, at 20:00, the club said, while it works through event logistics with the Welsh Rugby Union and the stadium.

The Guardian reported that an agreement with Cardiff’s city council envisaged the boxing starting around 2am on Saturday, 12 December, local time. That overnight start follows the announced Friday event date; Netflix’s announcement did not give a precise start time. The Guardian said the timing suits the broadcaster’s US audience.

The announcement listed Fury’s record as 36 wins, two losses and one draw, with 25 knockouts, and Joshua’s as 30 wins and four losses, with 27 knockouts. Netflix’s Gabe Spitzer described the contest as years in the making, while Turki Alalshikh confirmed the matchup in the announcement.

How the venue dispute developed

Before Cardiff was announced, plans had pointed towards Madison Square Garden in New York in November, the Guardian reported. Hearn and Joshua maintained that the original agreement required the fight to be in the UK; the Guardian also attributed concerns about US tax implications to them. The contracts themselves are not available in the cited reporting.

In a 16 September interview reported by MMA Fighting, Hearn said he and Joshua wanted the original agreement honoured. He claimed Joshua preferred a UK fight even though a US event would have paid him more, and said Cardiff was his preferred venue. Those assertions describe Hearn’s position before the location was confirmed; they do not establish the terms of the agreement.

Warren told the Guardian that he had worked with event organiser Sela to secure the Cardiff venue and deal with local authorities, while staying outside the negotiations involving Hearn, Alalshikh and White. The distinction matters to his forecast: he expressed confidence that the fight would take place, but did not say he had resolved the promotional dispute.

What remains open

No direct statement from Joshua, signed contract or cancellation notice appears in the cited reports. The planned 30 September press conference may show whether the fighters appear together as Warren expects, but his expectation does not settle Fury’s accusation. For now, the announced Cardiff event remains the confirmed plan and the alleged attempt to withdraw remains unverified.

The latest dispute follows the Cardiff announcement covered in NewsJaws’ report on the confirmed venue. Any change to the date, venue or promotional arrangements would require a further announcement from the parties involved.