Joshua and Fury in negotiations over November bout: promoter
Britain's Tyson Fury (R) throws a jab against Russia's Arslanbek Makhmudov (L) during their heavyweight 'Clash of the Giants' contest at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London on April 11, 2026. (Photo by Henry NICHOLLS / AFP)
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British heavyweight rivals Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are
on course to meet in a long-awaited bout in November, according to promoter
Eddie Hearn.
Hearn on Tuesday said he was "pretty sure" the
pair will finally meet later this year.
Fury made his latest comeback following 16 months in
retirement when he defeated Arslanbek Makhmudov on points on Saturday.
Following that bout, Netflix announced on social media that
the richest fight in British boxing history had been agreed between Fury and
Joshua.
Hearn said the streaming service jumped the gun but he is
confident the fight will happen.
Joshua first needs to get back in the ring for a warm-up
fight after his victory over YouTube star Jake Paul in December in his only
appearance in 19 months.
"We received the contracts at the end of last week for
their proposal of the two fights and we've been going back and forward and we
continue to do that," Hearn said.
"My instructions from AJ are to make the fight and
that's what we'll be trying to do. I wouldn't really say there are sticking
points, but obviously when you receive a contract it's very natural to go back
with a lot of stuff.
"It's nothing major, a little bit about who he fights
in July, when he fights, where the fight's going to be.
"Fury was trying to palm it off that we've had our
warm-up fight against Jake Paul, which I thought was a bit cheeky, but I expect
us to fight someone of the same kind of level as Makhmudov and then fight Fury.
"The deal that we've been offered is not to fight Tyson
Fury straight away, and that's our preferred option. We're happy with that and
we expect to be out in July and then fight Fury in November."
Joshua was involved in a car crash in Nigeria in December
that killed two of his close friends.
In the next fortnight he is expected to be given the
all-clear by medics to resume full training after sustaining injuries in the
accident.
The 36-year-old has been spending time working on his conditioning in Ukraine with WBC, WBA and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk.

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