Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will finally stand face to face on 30 September, with a launch press conference confirmed for the British Airways ARC at Olympia in London, four days ahead of what would have been the fight’s original announcement. The pair meet on 11 December at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, and the build-up is already delivering as much drama off the canvas as fans expect once the bell rings, with a promotional row still rumbling and a blockbuster undercard taking shape.
A title with real stakes
The winner will not simply be settling British boxing’s biggest domestic rivalry. According to Mike Coppinger of The Ring, the WBA has revived its “super” heavyweight designation specifically for this fight, meaning Fury and Joshua will collide with a genuine world title on the line for the first time since Oleksandr Usyk vacated his belts in June. Usyk remains The Ring’s own heavyweight champion regardless of the outcome, and Murat Gassiev continues to hold the WBA’s separate “regular” strap, but the winner in Cardiff walks out with a share of the undisputed picture restored to their name.
One detail already confirmed will disappoint anyone hoping for a trilogy: Frank Warren told talkSPORT there is no rematch clause in the contract. Asked directly whether one existed, Fury’s promoter replied simply, “No, not at the moment.” At 38 and 36 respectively, neither man may get, or want, a second run at it regardless of how the first fight goes.
Hearn and White still at odds
The fight’s confirmation on Wednesday did little to settle the promotional dispute that has coloured the build-up for weeks. Netflix’s official announcement credited Turki Alalshikh, The Ring and UFC chief Dana White as promoters of the event, while leaving Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn and Queensberry’s Frank Warren, the two men who have actually promoted Joshua and Fury throughout their careers, off the release entirely.
Hearn was in no mood to let it slide. “Dana White cannot be involved in this fight,” he said, insisting the contracts guaranteed Matchroom and Queensberry’s exclusive promotional control and that he would be reminding Netflix of that fact. He also took aim at White’s earlier confidence that the fight would land in the United States: “We won the race, the fight is happening in the UK, and on we go. You’ve lost, mate. You’ve lost.” White, for his part, has said only that he is pleased a fight boxing fans have wanted for over a decade is finally happening, and has not publicly responded to Hearn’s latest broadside.
Pacquiao and Stevenson in talks for the undercard
The most eye-catching subplot concerns the chief support. Lance Pugmire, citing sources at Boxing News 24, reported that Manny Pacquiao and undefeated four-division champion Shakur Stevenson are in negotiations for a “double main event” slot on the Cardiff card. Stevenson, unbeaten at 25-0 and coming off a January win over Teofimo Lopez, would be fighting a 47-year-old Pacquiao who has not won since beating Keith Thurman in 2019 and drew with Mario Barrios last November. Nothing is signed, and the mismatch in youth and recent form has already drawn scepticism from within the sport, but talks are understood to be ongoing rather than dead.
Elsewhere on the undercard, Richardson Hitchins and Keyshawn Davis, both unbeaten Americans at welterweight, are being circled as a likely chief support bout after Matchroom’s Keith Connolly teased “a couple of big Americans” in a fight “fans are going to be shocked that both fighters are taking in their prime.” IBF heavyweight titleholder Filip Hrgovic has also confirmed he is open to facing Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on the same show, telling reporters, “I’m in if we can make a good deal. It’s a little bit soon, but if we can make a good deal maybe I can do that.” That fight remains Alalshikh’s proposal rather than a done deal, and Hrgovic has left the door open to a step-aside arrangement against mandatory challenger Frank Sanchez instead.
What happens next
None of the undercard talk will be resolved before Wednesday’s press conference, where Fury and Joshua are expected to share a stage for the first time since the fight was signed. Ring-walk times remain unofficial, though both camps are braced for a start in the early hours of UK time to suit Netflix’s American prime-time audience. For now, the only certainty is the date, the venue and a WBA belt with Fury and Joshua’s names newly attached to it.
