British heavyweight Tyson Fury confirmed on Wednesday that his highly anticipated clash with Anthony Joshua will be staged at Madison Square Garden in New York, settling months of speculation over the location of the contest.
In an Instagram post accompanied by a promotional image of the two fighters set against the New York skyline, Fury wrote: “What a place NYC, and what a venue MSG, and what a fight Fury vs AJ, the land of opportunity.” He continued: “What a weekend away for the lads on the piss in NYC. Iconic! Not long now guys.”
No date was given in the announcement. Sources close to the negotiations indicate the fight is targeted for November, with November 20 widely reported as the preferred date. Both men have signed contracts with Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, who is backing the promotion alongside Netflix.
Joshua’s promoter, Matchroom Boxing, had not issued a formal confirmation by the time of this report. Joshua’s team had previously favoured a UK venue, citing tax implications of fighting in the United States. Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn acknowledged the difficulty earlier, stating: “We don’t want to do the fight in the US, but we also understand it has to work for everybody.”
Hearn added: “We’ve set out our position, mainly in concern to the tax situation that will deplete his net purse by going to America, which can be rectified and I think they’re happy to do that. We will need to make a decision this week. They’ve replied, they have our terms. It’s up to them.”
Fury, 38, has recorded 36 professional victories, with his only losses coming in back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024. He returned to the ring in July with a stoppage win over Mariusz Wach in Thailand. Joshua also resumed action in July, beating Kristian Prenga in Jeddah.
An earlier attempt to stage the Fury-Joshua fight fell through in 2021 after a US court ruled Fury was contractually bound to face Deontay Wilder for a third time. Should the November date hold, the bout will finally pair two of Britain’s most prominent heavyweights on one of boxing’s most iconic stages.
