Frank Warren declined to confirm reports that Tyson Fury’s fight with Anthony Joshua is headed to Madison Square Garden on November 20. Asked directly this week whether New York and that date were correct, Fury’s promoter told the Press Association he could not comment at this moment, and that the announcement belongs to Turki Alalshikh, who will make it when he is ready.
Warren said there is no deadline on the decision. Both fighters need to be in full training by early September, he said, and Fury is currently with his family, staying in shape while he waits. Once the date is announced, Warren said, Fury will bring in sparring partners and begin serious preparation. He added that he believes the fight will go on in November.
The venue question has hung over the fight since both men cleared their summer tune-ups, and the reporting has increasingly pointed away from London. As Boxing Insider reported this week, the bout is now expected to land in New York as the push to stage it at Wembley Stadium stalls.
Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix reported that the fight is “almost certain to land in the U.S., with Madison Square Garden the frontrunner,” citing multiple sources. Mannix also reported that Netflix, which has steered the event, has targeted several Friday night dates.
The obstacle in London is the clock. Alalshikh wants a start time that captures an American prime-time audience, which would mean ring walks around 2am in the UK, and Wembley’s curfew does not currently allow it. Warren said he sympathizes with British fans, but noted that Sela contacted Wembley and asked about pushing the time back, and that as far as he understands, that has not happened.
The contract complicates any move. Eddie Hearn, speaking after Joshua’s win over Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, told reporters, “There’s a reason we put contracts together.” Hearn has said the signed agreement specifically places the fight in the UK, and that staging it anywhere else would require a renegotiation that both he and Joshua would have to approve. Warren, for his part, sidestepped questions about whether Fury’s contract contains the same stipulation.
Joshua has been consistent on where he wants it. Speaking after the Prenga fight, he said “there was no other venue or location that was ever mentioned” when the fight was first mapped out, describing Wembley as the plan from the start of those conversations.
Warren also shut down talk of another warm-up for Joshua. The former unified champion was dropped twice in the opening round by Prenga on July 25 before stopping the Albanian in the second, and the knockdowns prompted debate over whether Joshua should take one more fight before Fury. Warren rejected the idea, pointing out that Joshua has already fought twice in the past seven months, against Jake Paul and Prenga, and is in training camp with Oleksandr Usyk. Another delay, he argued, only makes both men older.
Assessing the matchup, Warren said Joshua remains dangerous coming forward and will fancy the fight if he believes he can catch and hurt Fury. The problem, Warren said, is that Joshua gets caught and goes over, and he suggested that if Fury had landed the shots Prenga did, the night would have ended differently. He said both fighters are being very well paid, but that neither wants to be the loser, and both will have to dig deep. Asked for a winner, Warren did not hesitate: “I say all day long it is Tyson.”
Fury (36-2-1, 25 KOs) retired Mariusz Wach on his stool after seven rounds on July 24 in Pattaya, Thailand. Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) stopped Prenga the following night in Jeddah. The fight between them is signed, targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026, with Netflix expected to broadcast. The only remaining question is the one Warren would not answer.
