Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are on a collision course to finally fight.
Arguably the biggest and certainly the most lucrative and long-awaited showdown in British boxing history looks likely to finally come to pass after a decade of frustration, near-misses and animosity.
Fury remained on track for that blockbuster clash by stopping Polish veteran Mariusz Wach in the seventh round of a recent mysterious non-televised main event in Thailand, which took place in front of just 1,500 fans.
It was the self-proclaimed ‘Gypsy King’s’ second bout since ending a latest 15-month retirement from the sport that followed his rematch defeat by Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024, having seen off Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April.
24 hours later, Joshua recovered from two shock first-round knockdowns to quickly knock out Kristian Prenga at the Jeddah Superdrome in Saudi Arabia.
It was his first fight since sustaining minor injuries as a passenger in a serious car accident in Nigeria in December that claimed the lives of two of his close friends and long-time team members, Sina Ghami and Latif "Latz" Ayodele.
Joshua last fought earlier the same month in Miami, when he knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul - who afterwards needed surgery on a broken jaw - in the sixth round of their high-profile Netflix contest.
Dominant: Tyson Fury forced Mariusz Wach to quit on his stool before the eighth round in ThailandAFP/GettyWhen is Fury vs Joshua fight?
At the moment, we still don’t know for sure with a date and venue for the fight having yet to be announced despite the contracts being officially signed earlier this year.
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However, it has long since been widely reported that November is the preferred month for it to take place.
November 20 has been floated as a potential specific date, a rare Friday night affair to avoid a clash with college football in the United States, which typically takes place on Saturdays, though there have been suggestions that we could yet be kept waiting until 2027.
Where is Fury vs Joshua fight?
Wembley Stadium was originally earmarked as the venue for the fight.
There was a complication, however, as organiser Turki Alalshikh wanted the bout to be watchable at a good time for television audiences in the US and elsewhere.
As such, he initially proposed the idea of an overnight card, taking place in London, to best suit the time zones across the pond.
“It depends if England give us all that we need," Alalshikh said.
"We want the fight here in England, but we want the time zone of all the world, especially in America.
"If they allowed us to have Wembley late in the night, we want to do it in England. It is about the time and viewership.”
Recovery: Anthony Joshua was knocked down twice by Kristian Prenga before bouncing back quicklyGettyIf that was to be the case, the main card would likely not start in the UK until 2am in order to coincide with ‘prime time’ in the US.
Wembley typically has an 11pm curfew for most weekend events and special approval would need to be granted to extend that into the early hours of the morning.
Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Boxing chief and Joshua’s long-time promoter, insisted that the bout would be held in the UK, but told DAZN in the build-up to Joshua vs Prenga that there was now an increasing possibility of it being taken to the US.
“We've been told in the last 24 hours that [a fight in America] is what they want,” Hearn said. “That doesn't tally up with the contract that we signed.
“Until we're happy, we expect every point of that contract to be followed. I feel like this fight should be taking place in the UK.
“Anthony Joshua insisted that the contract stated that the fight must be in the UK.
“If they want to change the contract, then we have to renegotiate the contract. Which, by the way, is not a problem. But it's a conversation we have to have.”
Cardiff’s Principality Stadium had also been rumoured as a potential venue for Fury vs Joshua, having previously hosted the latter’s fights against both Joseph Parker and Carlos Takam.
However, Croke Park in Dublin was ruled out, following initial suggestions in some quarters that the fight could take place on the same bill as Katie Taylor’s farewell contest against Flora Pili in September.
According to boxing journalist Chris Mannix, it is now looking “almost certain” that the fight will be held in the US, with New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden - scene of Joshua’s shock loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 - the potential host venue.