Fury confirms Joshua fight in USA

Tyson Fury has confirmed that his long-awaited heavyweight showdown with British-Nigerian Anthony Joshua, will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York, ending months of uncertainty over the venue for the fight.

The former world heavyweight champion announced the development on Instagram with a poster of himself and Joshua set against the New York City skyline. However, no date was attached to the post.

“What a place NYC, and what a venue MSG, and what a fight Fury vs AJ, the land of opportunity,” Fury wrote.

“What a weekend away for the lads on the piss in NYC. Iconic! Not long now guys.”

Joshua was not tagged in the post, and neither the two-time world champion nor his promoter, Matchroom Boxing, had confirmed the development as of this report.

The fight is expected to hold in November, with November 20 understood to be the target date, after both fighters signed contracts with Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.

Joshua’s original terms had stipulated that the fight must take place in the United Kingdom, but organisers Netflix and Alalshikh pushed for a Stateside clash, leading his promoter, Eddie Hearn, into fresh negotiations to allow the bout to move to America.

Hearn said Joshua’s team remained opposed to staging the fight outside the United Kingdom but understood it had to work for all parties involved.

“We don’t want to do the fight in the US, but we also understand it has to work for everybody,” Hearn said.

“We’ve set out our position, mainly in concern to the tax situation that will deplete his net purse by going to America, which can be rectified and I think they’re happy to do that”.

“We will need to make a decision this week. They’ve replied, they have our terms. It’s up to them,” Hearn said.

The announcement drew criticism from fans, who questioned why an all-British contest was being staged in America rather than at a venue such as Wembley Stadium.

38-year-old Fury has won 36 of his professional bouts, with his only defeats coming in back-to-back fights against Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in 2024. He returned to the ring in July, stopping Polish opponent Mariusz Wach in a tune-up fight in Pattaya, Thailand, having earlier retired from the sport following his second loss to Usyk.

Joshua won his tune-up bout on July 25 over Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, a development Hearn said helped clear the way for talks with Fury’s camp to progress.

Plans for a Fury-Joshua fight first collapsed in 2021 after a United States judge ruled that Fury had to face Deontay Wilder in a trilogy bout instead.