The fate of the highly anticipated boxing showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury remains completely clouded by a massive contractual dispute. Both heavyweight champions have officially agreed to fight, yet a massive disagreement has erupted over the specific location of the historic bout.

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn claims that the signed agreement strictly requires the event to take place in the United Kingdom. Saudi powerbroker Turki Alalshikh and broadcasting partner Netflix are actively pushing to stage the mega-fight in New York. That proposed geographical shift would severely impact the financial structure of the entire event.

Moving the fight to Madison Square Garden introduces significant international taxation differences and new promotional obligations that would actively reduce Joshua’s final earnings. Hearn addressed these specific financial hurdles during a tense recent press conference. He explicitly accused the Saudi organizers of attempting to pay his fighter considerably less money by altering the pre-agreed location. The frustrated promoter also revealed that the ongoing negotiations have already crossed legal boundaries. This public accusation exposed a massive fracture in their previous business partnership.

“What they want to do is they want to pay Anthony Joshua less money, because that’s how it will work out with the difference in location,” Hearn explained to reporters at a press conference. “They want him to do a load of additional stuff. And I’m not going to blow things up, which I could do so easily, but there has been breaches in Joshua’s contract already, which we’ve let slide because these guys are our partners and our friends, or were.”

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Recent reports exposed emails exchanged between Matchroom and the Saudi organizers regarding entirely separate financial matters. The leaked content highlighted non-boxing-related payouts connected to the World Series of Darts and funding for the Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy in Riyadh.

The emails also detailed specific demands regarding Joshua’s remaining purse from his July 25, 2026, knockout victory against Kristian Prenga. Hearn argued that these private communications were deliberately leaked to paint Joshua as excessively greedy. He believes the organizers weaponized these emails to blame the British fighter for holding up the monumental heavyweight clash.

“But there’s a game being played at the moment where some of you guys are being fed emails and information to try and dress things up to spin a narrative that’s just not true,” Hearn forcefully stated.

The Matchroom executive clarified that the outstanding payment list was completely separate from the official addendum regarding staging the fight in the United States. He and his team are currently waiting for an official response to their latest proposal. As far as the Matchroom camp is concerned, the original signed contract remains fully binding. The promoter completely dismissed any possibility of the fight falling through on their end.

“The reality is no one’s really acknowledging that we’ve signed the contract,” Hearn said. “People say, ‘Oh, the fight could fall through.’ It can’t fall through. It can’t, unless Sela and Saudi want to breach the contract and not stage a fight they’ve signed to stage, which wouldn’t happen either. ‘Anthony Joshua wants to walk away from the fight.’ We can’t walk away from the fight. We’ve signed a contract. So we’re in. All we need is Turki Alalshikh or Netflix to call us and say, Wembley Stadium or wherever in the UK, this is the date. We’ll have the press conference this week. It’s done.”

This mounting venue delay threatens to completely derail the meticulously planned training schedules. The promotional standoff also features another prominent rival quietly operating behind the scenes.

Eddie Hearn fights on two fronts: Wembley dispute collides with Dana White rivalry

What adds a layer to the situation is that Hearn’s position on the venue comes amid his simmering feud with Dana White. The UFC CEO, through his Zuffa Boxing partnership with Turki Alalshikh and SELA, has previously suggested his involvement as a promoter for the AJ-Fury event.

That suggestion irked Hearn, who later fired back by suggesting that he might consider a lawsuit to keep the American promoter away.

However, Hearn has increasingly come to the realization that he may not be able to prevent White’s involvement entirely, especially if Fury, who previously surprised everyone by making an appearance at the White House Card in June, brings in UFC CEO as his advisor or manager.

Hearn’s hopes, meanwhile, stand in contrast to frustration expressed by Team Fury. Calling Joshua and the Matchroom head “disgusting” and “money-thirsty,” the former WBC heavyweight champion reportedly stated the standstill now revolves around the same old issues that allegedly ruined their previous matchup talks.

Saying that Hearn and AJ are once again running away behind excuses, like “cowards,” Fury later dropped hints that if the AJ fight doesn’t come about, he may like move on to another opponent.

With development in the AJ-Fury showdown continuing to unfold, the coming days could prove crucial. After talks that lasted almost a decade, with both former champions now out of their prime and approaching the final stages of their careers, seeing the fight disappear at this stage would be the least anyone would want.