Anthony Joshua has told Tyson Fury it is up to him whether they finally meet in the ring next year.
Joshua and Fury are being lined up for a long-anticipated fight as part of Riyadh Season in 2026, with a September date in London pencilled in. No deal has been finalised but there is growing confidence that a fight will take place and both camps are working towards making it happen in 2026.
But Joshua has said he will not be the one to hold up the fight, telling Reuters: “It’s up to Fury. I’ve signed to fight him a number of times. I don’t want to get my hopes up and be let down again.”

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Fury and Joshua will take to the ring in separate fights in the early part of 2026 as part of Riyadh Season, with Joshua fighting in Saudi Arabia in February with Fury to follow shortly afterwards. The two former world heavyweight champions have never fought each other despite being close to a match-up in 2021 which never materialised in what would have been a fight for the undisputed heavyweight crown.
Fury is currently retired after he suffered successive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk while Joshua is looking to get back on track following his fifth-round knockout by former IBF champion Daniel Dubois in September 2024. Before that, though, Joshua will take on Jake Paul in an eight-round fight in Miami on Friday night.
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren, meanwhile, confirmed no agreement has been reached. “There’s been some talks going on, there’s nothing been signed yet, but Tyson’s indicated if it’s the right deal, he’ll definitely do it,” he told Sky Sports News.
“I think it’s going in the right direction and hopefully we’ll get some news pretty soon as to what’s going to happen. I do believe it will happen. AJ’s fighting, or whatever you want to call it, this week against Jake Paul and there’s talk of him fighting again early in 2026.
“Tyson’s been out for a while now. He may have a warm-up fight but if this fight happens – which I believe it will – it will be sometime in late summer. So that’s another seven months away, so he’ll certainly have a fight in between I think if he comes back.
“He has been in the gym full-time training very hard. He’s in great nick, he looks well and he’s said many times himself he would like to come back and fight again. And 2026 I believe, provided the deal’s right, I think you’ll see him back in the ring again.”





















