Boxing
CONFIRMED! TYSON FURY AND ANTHONY JOSHUA TO FIGHT IN SAUDI ARABIA IN AUGUST
A long-awaited world heavyweight boxing title unification fight between British rivals Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua is set for Saudi Arabia in August, promoter Eddie Hearn said on Tuesday (May 11).
Joshua, 31, holds the International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Organisation, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Organisation titles while Fury, 32, is the World Boxing Council belt holder.
“August the seventh, August the 14th. I think it’s a very bad secret that the fight is happening in Saudi Arabia,” Hearn, head of Matchroom Sport and Joshua’s promoter, told Sky Sports television.
“It’s the same people we did the deal with for Andy Ruiz, that event was spectacular. As partners they were fantastic as well.”
Joshua won back his belts from Andy Ruiz Jr in Diriyah, on the outskirts of the Saudi capital Riyadh, in December 2019. He had lost the belts to the Mexican-American in an earlier shock defeat.
Hearn said Fury’s lawyers were going through the fine details but an announcement could come this week.
“We’re very comfortable. Anthony’s comfortable, he knows those people. They delivered on every one of their promises last time, we’re ready to go,” said Hearn.
He said it made more sense to go for the 14th in terms of the global spectacle, with the Tokyo Olympics finishing on Aug 8, but hoped to nail down the date and venue in the next few days.
Hearn said in March that Fury and Joshua had agreed a two-fight deal to unify the title, although Fury’s co-promoters subsequently cast doubt on that.
Fury has not fought for more than a year since his knockout win against American Deontay Wilder. Joshua’s last fight was against Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev in December.
Joshua and Fury have both been active on social media recently, trading barbs.
Fury said in a podcast with Hearn last week that he would expose Joshua in the ring as a fake and cut him down “like a hot knife through cheese”.
He said the real difference between them was that Joshua was a businessman, while he was a ‘Spartan’.
Joshua took to Twitter on Tuesday to say: ” ‘Spartan’ I’m tired. My fans are tired. Your fans are tired. We’re all tired of the talk. Less talk. More action!”
Fury replied by saying Joshua was “no talk no action”.
Hearn said he would be talking to Fury’s handlers later on Tuesday.
“We’re in a great place, we’re very comfortable with the deal now and we want to move forward and we want to get it done,” he said. “I want to be able to stand here and not say, ‘Give me a couple of days or next week’.
“We just have to get everybody comfortable to shake hands and say, ‘We’re in this as a team, we’re in this for boxing. Let’s move forward and make this fight’.”
-Reuters
Daniel Dubois came back from two knockdowns to deal Fabio Wardley a brutal and bloody first defeat as a professional and take the WBO heavyweight title in a thunderous all-British clash on Saturday.
Referee Howard Foster finally stepped in at the start of the 11th round to signal the end of the fight, with Wardley bleeding heavily from the bridge of the nose and with his right eye almost closed.
Dubois rose twice from the canvas, including being dropped by a right hook in the first 10 seconds of the fight, to pulverise Wardley and become a world heavyweight champion for the second time in his career.
“It was a war. We came through the sticky moments. Thank you, Fabio, for that,” said Dubois, who was previously IBF champion after the belt was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, with the Ukrainian winning it back in July 2025.
“What a great fight. What a great battle, man”.
The win was Dubois’s 23rd as a professional in 26 fights, while Wardley now has a 20-1-1 record.
Veteran promoter Frank Warren, who manages both men, said it was the best heavyweight fight he had ever put on and confirmed there was a rematch clause in the contract.
For some viewers, however, it was also an uncomfortable watch that could have been stopped earlier.
The 31-year-old Wardley, who was promoted to WBO champion last November after Usyk vacated the title, was making his first defence and showed immense heart as he took a tremendous beating yet refused to capitulate.
He had his opponent on the floor, a blow Dubois, 28, later dismissed as a ‘flash knockdown’, almost with the opening bell still sounding.
Dubois was back on one knee in round three but came close to a stoppage in the sixth with the reigning champion bleeding heavily and on the ropes.
The Londoner continued to land blow after blow on Wardley, who wobbled but refused to give up.
His corner inspected the facial wounds after the eighth, and doctors and the referee took a look in rounds nine and 10, but still the fight continued, with Wardley increasingly struggling to stay on his feet and fighting on instinct.
“You witnessed something special tonight,” Warren told the BBC. “Two men baring their hearts and souls in the ring gave everything, didn’t leave one bit outside the ring.
“They were getting hit with bombs that would take people out, and they stood it.”
-Reuters
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World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has backed Anthony Joshua to defeat Tyson Fury in their long‑anticipated clash later this year and has been helping him with his game plan.
Usyk, who holds the IBF, WBA and WBC belts, has been working with former opponent Joshua in recent months and said he has been impressed by the Briton’s development.
He added that 36-year-old Joshua deserves to beat compatriot and fellow ex-champion Fury, 37, after changing his approach.
“Fury is an unbelievable fighter, and Fury is a very dangerous guy, but I look at how Anthony works and how he has changed,” Usyk told the BBC.
“I like Fury, he is my greedy belly’s best friend, he’s an amazing fighter, but I want Anthony to win – he deserves it.”
Joshua, a former two‑time world heavyweight champion, is scheduled to return to the ring against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25. The bout will be his first since a car accident last December in which two close friends were killed.
Usyk said his recent work with Joshua has focused on technical and mental preparation.
“We speak about strategy, boxing skills and psychology. We speak about fights, our fights, and I say ‘champ, come on, don’t stop’,” he said.
The Ukrainian is set to defend his world titles against Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23 in Egypt.
-Reuters
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- Summary
- *Joshua to face Kristian Prenga in Riyadh after car accident hiatus
- *Fight marks start of Joshua’s multi-fight deal in Saudi Arabia, announced by Turki Alalshikh
- *Promoter Hearn says Joshua vs Fury is signed for later in the year
Former world heavyweight boxing champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have signed up for a long-awaited clash later this year, promoter Eddie Hearn said on Monday.
“Signed, sealed, delivered! AJ v Fury is on!,” Hearn posted on Instagram.
The announcement came after confirmation that Joshua will return to the ring against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25 in the Briton’s first fight since he was in a car accident last December that killed two close friends.
U.S.-based Albanian Prenga, 35, is a former kickboxer with a ring record of 20 wins and one defeat since he turned professional in 2016.
The fight, billed as “The Comeback”, was announced by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Alalshikh and will be broadcast live worldwide on DAZN.
Turki also posted on X a message “to my friends in Great Britain – it’s happening. It’s signed” while his Ring Magazine said the fight would happen in Q4 2026 on Netflix.
SIXTH-ROUND KNOCKOUT
Joshua, 36, has a record of 28 wins and four losses with his most recent fight a sixth-round knockout of American Jake Paul on December 19 in Miami.
“It’s no secret I’ve taken some time to consolidate and rebuild to be ready for stepping back into the ring, and today is the next step on that journey,” said Joshua.
“I’m delighted to have agreed a multi-fight deal starting with July 25th in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I’m looking forward to competing and picking up where I left off. The landlord will collect his rent. That is certain.”
Hearn told Sky Sports television he wanted a “tune-up bout” in July before facing Fury potentially in November.
“July and November are the two dates that have been presented to us now and we expect to move forward,” he said. “Fury has just had his tune-up fight with 12 really vital rounds to get him sharp for the next one and I expect us to do the same.”
Fury called for a showdown with Joshua after he outclassed Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11.
“Next, I want to give you the fight you’ve all been waiting for. I want you AJ, Anthony Joshua, let’s give the fight fans what they want, the Battle of Britain,” he said then.
-Reuters
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