Tyson Fury has accused Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua of trying to pull out of their December 11 fight, one day after its Cardiff announcement. Fury says Hearn’s objections are putting the biggest fight of his career at risk.
“Breaking news, Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn are trying to pull out of this fight,” Fury said in a social media video. He called them “little shithouse cowards” and claimed Hearn was making “a million different” demands. Fury also told Joshua to “pull your finger out” and said he still wants to fight him in Wales.
The anger follows Chris Mannix’s report that Turki Alalshikh wants Dana White involved as a promoter, while Joshua and Hearn have a contract barring Zuffa Boxing from that role. That is a serious disagreement for the people financing and staging the event to resolve. The contract itself has not been made public.
Fury’s video puts pressure on Joshua, but it does not settle the contractual question. If Joshua’s agreement excludes Zuffa, Hearn can insist on the terms his side signed. Fury can still argue that a fight of this size should survive an argument over who gets a promotional role. Neither position makes the dispute disappear.
His most revealing line was that Alalshikh is finding “alternative real men who will fight at the drop of a hat.” Fury is already talking as though a replacement is possible, even while calling for Joshua to face him. That gives the threat of cancellation more force, but it also gives Joshua’s side a reason to hold firm if they believe the contract protects them.
For fans, the absurdity is that Fury and Joshua appear ready to fight in the same country, on an announced date, with the money behind them. The question now is who gets to stand beside the ring and promote it.
Fury has every reason to lose his mind, because if this fight evaporates over who gets their logo on the backdrop, his options fall off a cliff.
At 38, he knows Joshua is the only jackpot left on the board that does not involve getting chopped up by Oleksandr Usyk again or taking a beating from younger punchers for a fraction of the purse. It is a massive pile of money for a matchup he genuinely believes he wins in his sleep, and watching Eddie Hearn treat it like an intellectual property dispute has to be driving him crazy.
Hearn is digging his heels in because this is purely about territory. Dana White rolling in alongside Netflix to stage the biggest British fight in history makes Matchroom look like a bystander at their own party. Hearn forced the venue to Cardiff, but having White get top billing on the press releases is something Matchroom’s ego cannot swallow.
The real danger for Fury is that Turki Alalshikh does not tolerate being dictated to. The minute Hearn starts threatening to pull Joshua or boycott press conferences over promotional credits, Alalshikh pivots. Mentioning alternative opponents was not just hot air from Fury. If Joshua and Hearn keep stalling over Dana White, Alalshikh will happily stick David Benavidez or another body in Cardiff, leaving Joshua on the outside looking in, while Fury watches tens of millions of dollars vanish into thin air.
‼️ Tyson Fury reacts to the reports that his fight with Anthony Joshua could be in jeopardy. pic.twitter.com/CkJNBwILHY
— EverythingBoxing | Darshan Desai (@EverythingBoxi2) September 25, 2026
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