It was oh so close so many times, but Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua is finally happening in 2026.
We have had so many false starts before on the road to the fight ALL British fight fans crave, and now at long last the date and the location is set.
We came very close to the pair meeting in August 2021, before Deontay Wilder won an arbitration ruling to scupper that plan and force a trilogy fight vs Fury. Then in late 2022 a deal was in the works but they could not get it across the line.
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Now things are different – thanks to enormous investment in the sport by Saudi Arabia, its General Entertainment Authority and His Excellency Turki Alalshikh.
The Saudis have ploughed countless millions into their lavish ‘Riyadh Season’, and now – finally – the big fight is being delivered.
Fury vs Joshua date and fight time
We now have a date and a location – the big fight will take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on Friday December 11, 2026. As yet exact timings have yet to be confirmed – in particular whether the fight time will also cater for US TV viewers.
If it does, expect ring walks in the early hours of Saturday December 12. If not, then between 10pm and 11pm UK time on Friday December 11.
Fury vs Joshua TV channel and live stream
Something of a surprise here, but Netflix have live and exclusive rights to this one. It’s their latest foray into the boxing space after recent blockbusters like Canelo vs Crawford and Joshua vs Jake Paul.
That means – unless something changes – the likes of Sky Sports, DAZN and TNT Sports will be on the outside looking in. A major shock after all three doubtless spent years salivating over the potential PPV buys for this one.
Fury vs Joshua venue
When Fury vs Joshua was first signed back in 2021, the venue was Saudi Arabia.
But the great news now is that this one WILL take place in the UK. Not at Wembley Stadium though and not even in England. Instead it is Cardiff’s Principality Stadium which has a capacity of 73,931. It would be a huge surprise if tickets do not sell out immediately once they go on sale.
Latest odds
A couple of years ago this was not even close – before he faced Ngannou in October 2023, Fury was a 1/4 favourite to overcome Joshua. With AJ the 3/1 underdog.
Fury is still very much the favourite at 8/15 but it’s much closer now. AJ is a 7/4 underdog with the Draw priced at 16/1.
Fury vs Joshua tickets
Joshua is a huge box office draw – all 96,000 tickets for his fight with Dubois sold out in a matter of hours.
Fury meanwhile sold out 94,000 tickets for his Wembley clash with Dillian Whyte – 85,000 in one day alone.
We expect Fury vs Joshua to sell out in seconds, so watch this space for details around sale dates.
Fury vs Joshua weights
Fury tipped the scales at 265lbs (18st 13lbs) for his last fight – a regulation win over Mariusz Wach in Thailand in July.
Joshua weighed in at 251lbs (17st 13lbs) for his last fight as he got off the floor to defeat Albanian no hoper Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia. That was 7lbs heavier than his previous outing against Jake Paul, though that fight carried a strict weight limit with penalties for missing target.
The weigh-in for Fury vs Joshua will take place in Cardiff on Thursday December 10.
Fury vs Joshua purses
Fury and Joshua were due to take home the biggest purses of their careers so far from that planned August 2021 meeting in Saudi Arabia. Not so fast…
Their two-fight deal had allowed for a 50-50 revenue split for the first fight, with the winner taking a 60-40 upside for the rematch.
The talk is – and this comes from Eddie Hearn and dad Barry – both men will take home a minimum of £100million each for this first meeting alone.
Current world heavyweight champions
It is all change when it comes to the current world heavyweight champions today after two-time undisputed king Oleksandr Usyk vacated his titles.
German star Agit Kabayel is the new WBC champion while Britain’s Daniel Dubois holds the WBO crown. Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic is the IBF king after his shock defeat of Moses Itauma and Murat Gassiev holds the WBA strap.
Fury vs Joshua promoters
Even outside the ring there is an all-star cast for Fury vs Joshua.
Fury is co-promoted by two Hall of Famers. The Top Rank supremo Bob Arum in the United States. And Queensberry Promotions head Frank Warren in the UK.
Joshua meanwhile is promoted by Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn. Hearn is a bigger media star than most fighters in the UK, in particular via his social media feeds. The parody ‘No Context Hearn’ Twitter account, which clips some of his best one-liners as short videos, has more than 350,000 followers. Like Hearn himself, it has become a cult thing.
Tyson Fury record and profile
Tyson Luke Fury, now 38 years old. was born in Wythenshawe in Manchester on August 12, 1988. Then a premature baby and weighing just one pound at birth, he is now a huge physical specimen. He is 6ft 9ins tall with a reach of 85ins. He now lives in the Isle of Man.
Fury has a record of 36-2-1 with 25 wins inside distance. His only defeats were back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, while his draw came in his first meeting with Deontay Wilder in Los Angeles in December 2018.
Tyson (named after Mike Tyson) had his pro debut in December 2008. He disposed of Bela Gyongyosi with ease, and the rest is history.
There are two distinct chapters to Fury’s glittering career. The first from debut to November 2015, when he shocked Wladimir Klitschko to become world heavyweight champion.
Then came that three-year hiatus when Fury’s mental health issues threatened not only his boxing career, but his life. He also ballooned in weight to 400lbs.
Part two – the comeback – began in the summer of 2018 when the new Fury easily beat Sefer Seferi in Manchester. Just six months later he was back at world-title level.
Fury boxed brilliantly against Deontay Wilder in Los Angeles in 2018. Despite being knocked down twice, many experts felt he deserved the decision. Instead it was a controversial draw.
After wins over Otto Wallin and Tom Schwarz in 2019, Fury would rematch Wilder in Las Vegas in February 2020. This time he would leave nothing to chance.
Trained by Javan ‘SugarHill’ Steward and Andy Lee for the first time, he dominated from the first bell. The result was a one-sided beatdown which ended in Round 7 when Wilder’s towel came in.
Fury vs Wilder 3 was another stellar showing from ‘The Gypsy King’, who recovered from two fourth-round knockdowns to roar back and dominate. He would eventually knock out Deontay in Round 11 of a thrilling bout.
Next up was the domestic engagement with Dillian Whyte, and it was a triumphant homecoming for Fury in front of a baying crowd of 94.000 at Wembley Stadium. He dominated from the first bell and closed the show late in Round 6 with a perfect uppercut which landed Whyte on his back.
Fury ended 2022 with a convincing win over Dereck Chisora in their trilogy fight – again in London. Then came that surprising struggle against Ngannou in October 2023. And then of course that incredible unification blockbuster that he lost to Usyk by the closest of margins, followed by another decision loss in their rematch.
Fury returned from a 16-month retirement to easily outpoint giant Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov in London on April 11, to set up that massive showdown with Joshua. He followed up with a regulation success over Mariusz Wach in Thailand in July.
Anthony Joshua record and profile
Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua was born in Watford on October 15, 1989. He is now 36 years old. Joshua stands 6ft 6ins tall with a reach of 82ins. He has a professional record of 30-4 with 27 wins inside distance.
Joshua was destined for professional stardom right from the start, having won Olympic gold in the amateurs at the London Olympics of 2012.
He was utterly dominant in his entry into the paid ranks, demolishing all-comers (including big domestic rival Dillian Whyte) en route to a 15-0 start and his first shot at a world title.
That came against American Charles Martin in April 2016, and AJ made the most of the opportunity. He blasted out Martin inside two rounds to become IBF world heavyweight champion.
Six more victories followed as AJ added the WBA and WBO belts to his collection. His victims included the likes of Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin and Carlos Takam.
The signature success though came against Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 at Wembley Stadium in April 2017. After appearing on the brink of defeat, AJ recovered to win a classic via an 11th-round stoppage.
Joshua’s career suffered its first major blip in June 2019, on his American debut at Madison Square Garden. He was beaten inside seven rounds by late stand-in Andy Ruiz Jr.
AJ though took his defeat graciously and immediately exercised the rematch clause. Six months later, lighter and faster, he adapted his gameplan to box beautifully en route to a points victory in the Saudi Arabia rematch.
After a year-long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Joshua finally returned to the ring against Kubrat Pulev on Saturday December 12, 2020.
And the Watford man produced an impressive display to knock out the durable Bulgarian in nine rounds. Pulev took a standing count and was down in the third and then twice in the ninth. The final exclamation point came via a beautiful Joshua right hand which closed the show in some style.
Joshua lost his belts for a second time when he was outpointed by the brilliant Ukrainian Usyk in a fascinating tactical battle at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 25, 2021. Despite an improved showing in the rematch in Saudi Arabia in August 2022, Joshua again fell short as he dropped a split decision to the Ukrainian great.
Joshua’s very career at the highest level now appeared in some doubt, but he would roar back to prominence and title contention in a terrific 2023.
First he outpointed American Jermaine Franklin, before knocking out Robert Helenius. Then he was even more impressive in a five-round demolition of Wallin in December.
If that Wallin was impressive, it was nothing compared to the brutal two-round devastation of former UFC heavyweight king Ngannou in March 2024.
Joshua was now apparently back at the peak of his powers, but again he was headed towards another enormous bump in the road in the shape of Daniel Dubois.
Young Londoner Dubois came into their Wembley showdown in September 2024 as the IBF heavyweight champion, but also as a clear underdog. But he would tear up the script in incredible fashion.
‘Dynamite’ had AJ on the deck and almost out of there in Round 1, and he continued to smash up the two-time heavyweight champion en route to an incredible knockout success.
After that shocking loss, AJ had 15 months out (including elbow surgery and the resulting rehab) before his return to knock out Jake Paul in December 2025.
AJ then diced with disaster as he was knocked down twice before recovering to top little-known Albanian Kristian Prenga in Saudi in July.
Yes, it is definitely signed and happening on Friday December 11, 2026 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in Wales.
Good question, and one which has no easy answer. Fury’s 36-2-1 ledger includes three fights vs Deontay Wilder and a pair of matches (both losses) vs Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua meanwhile has a 30-4 mark which includes many of the best heavyweights of the last 10 years. As yet he has not faced Wilder but has – like Fury – posted a couple of losses to Usyk. His other losses came against Andy Ruiz and Daniel Dubois – facts which probably hand the slight edge to ‘The Gypsy King’.
