Eddie Hearn Stands Firm on Fury vs Joshua Fight Location

Eddie Hearn is digging in his heels. Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua, he insists, is coming home — and no amount of noise from Dana White is going to drag it across the Atlantic.

The Matchroom boss has gone on the offensive after White publicly accused him of stalling one of the biggest heavyweight fights in history, branding the situation “the weirdest thing ever.” White’s gripe? That Hearn and his team are blocking the bout from landing in the U.S. instead of staging it in Fury and Joshua’s homeland.

Hearn’s response is blunt: there’s nothing left to negotiate. From his side, the deal is already done.

“We’ve signed our contract. Just honor the contract that we’ve signed,” he told iFL TV, making it clear that, as far as he and Joshua are concerned, the only conversation now is about sticking to the original agreement — a fight in the U.K., not a U.S. super-venue.

Hearn vs White: Battle for the Venue

White has tried to muscle his way into the event, Hearn claims, by pushing to tear up the existing plan and ship the fight to America. Hearn accuses the UFC chief of attempting to get Sela — one of the key players involved — to walk away from a British stadium showdown in favor of a U.S. blockbuster.

“He thinks that he’s not causing a problem in this fight?” Hearn said, arguing that the disruption hasn’t come from his side but from those trying to move the goalposts after signatures were already on paper.

At the heart of it is Joshua’s stance. According to Hearn, Joshua has turned down significantly more money to keep the fight on British soil. Not for optics. Not for leverage. Because, Hearn says, he genuinely cares where this defining night takes place.

“He cares where the fight is. He cares about British boxing, and he cares about the contract that he signed,” Hearn insisted, adding that Joshua has refused to “dance” for a few extra millions in the U.S. “That is why, unfortunately for these people, the fight will not be taking place in America, because Anthony Joshua is not a sellout.”

For all the noise offstage, both fighters have done their bit in the ring to keep the dream alive. Fury recently came through against Mariusz Wach, Joshua did his part against Kristian Prenga, and Ring Magazine has already flagged the clash as a late-2026 epic in waiting. There is still no official date. No official venue. Just a signed agreement and a tug-of-war over where that agreement gets honored.

“Fake Patriotism” or Firm Principles?

Hearn is adamant that the delay in an announcement lies with those pushing for the U.S. move. He says the money to take the fight stateside is real, the offers are huge, and the choice has been Joshua’s alone.

“Anthony Joshua could have taken many millions more to do the fight in America and it was totally on him,” Hearn said. “‘Forget Eddie Hearn. What do I want? I want this fight in Britain.’”

Hearn knows the accusations. That he’s obsessed with money. That this sudden hard line on a British venue is “fake patriotism.” He leans into the contradiction.

“When A.J. makes a load more money, guess who else makes a load more money? Me,” he pointed out. If it was just about the biggest possible cheque, they’d have signed for the U.S. long ago.

Instead, the pair have doubled down, fuelled by a wave of public backing from British fans. Hearn says the reaction on social media — his and Joshua’s — has stiffened their resolve, not softened it. The more pressure they’ve felt to cross the ocean, the more determined they’ve become to stay home.

“What they’re now doing is they’re sulking because they can’t be involved,” Hearn said of those pushing the American option, taking a clear swipe at White’s public confidence that he knew where the fight would land. “We are not the same,” Hearn added, repeating a line he clearly enjoys. “We are not the same.”

Joshua’s Call, Britain’s Noise

Behind the scenes, the machinery is still moving. Hearn says they’ve been in constant contact with Netflix and Sela, not to renegotiate terms — the contract, he stresses, is already in place — but to shape the event within the framework they’ve signed.

He believes they’re “in a great position to move forward” and is now waiting, like everyone else, for Turki Alalshikh to make the official call on dates and venue. Hearn is hopeful that within a week, an announcement could finally land confirming a U.K. stadium fight.

If that happens, he expects a national outpouring.

“There will be unbelievable celebrations from the British public,” he said, half-joking that Joshua “should be knighted in the process” for turning down more money to keep the fight in Britain.

On the venue front, Principality Stadium in Cardiff has surged into the conversation. Hearn admits it’s his personal preference — a closed roof, a cauldron of noise, a proven big-fight arena. But he also understands the pull of Wembley Stadium, the global symbol, the iconic backdrop for what many already consider the biggest fight the U.K. has ever produced.

Whichever stadium wins, Hearn wants it crystal clear: Joshua is the one calling the shots.

“My instructions from Anthony Joshua are make sure this fight is in the U.K.,” he said. The fighter, not the promoter, has drawn the line. The online groundswell, the patriotism, the pressure from British fans — Hearn says Turki Alalshikh has seen it too and is now energised by the idea of staging the event on British soil.

America Shut Out?

Hearn doesn’t hide who he believes has been trying hardest to drag the fight away from the U.K.

“Dana White is the guy, Nick Khan is the guy that have tried desperately to bring this fight to the U.S. and not to stage this fight in the U.K.,” he said. White, Hearn argues, “does not want this fight in the U.K.,” and that has been the “big problem” in getting the announcement over the line.

Hearn’s counter has been to stand firm. No late switches. No ripping up of a signed deal. No compromise on location, no matter how lucrative the alternative.

He’s convinced that stance is finally cutting through.

“Because we’ve stayed firm against everybody, this is massive in the U.K. and it will be,” he said. If they secure the fight on home soil, he believes the reaction will be on a scale British sport has rarely seen.

“It could be the biggest sporting event ever in the U.K. We know it’s the biggest fight ever.”