Eddie Hearn has stated that the signed heavyweight fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will not proceed if either fighter loses his scheduled summer tune-up. The Matchroom chairman delivered the warning in interviews with Sky Sports and other UK outlets, with Joshua set to face Kristian Prenga on July 25 in Riyadh and Fury expected to take an interim bout of his own in August.

Joshua and Fury have signed contracts for a contest later in 2026, with Q4 reported as the target window. A venue has not been announced, though Wembley Stadium and a Saudi Arabia site remain the two main candidates. Joshua promoter Hearn and Fury promoter Frank Warren of Queensberry have both confirmed the agreement publicly.

“Now we have signed to fight Tyson Fury. He has signed to fight Anthony Joshua. The only thing that stands in the way is July 25,” Hearn told Sky Sports. Asked what would happen if either man lost, Hearn said: “It’s over.”

Joshua, 36, has not fought since his sixth-round stoppage of Jake Paul in Miami in December 2025, a Netflix card that drew 33 million viewers. He was involved in a fatal road accident days later in Nigeria that killed two friends, Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami. Prenga, an Albanian heavyweight with a 20-1 record and 20 knockouts, was largely unknown internationally before being named as Joshua’s comeback opponent.

Fury, 37, returned from a 16-month layoff on April 11 with a unanimous decision over Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Warren has said Fury wants a further fight before facing Joshua, with August discussed as a target date. Hearn indicated he would not object to Fury appearing on the July 25 Riyadh card as part of his own preparation, though logistics are described as difficult.

“I’d be shocked if he wasn’t in Riyadh July 25. Because that’s the moment,” Hearn told Sky Sports, referring to a potential face-off with Fury. “They’ve never come face to face.”

Hearn also said he would have nerves entering the Prenga fight given the events of the past year. “I will feel sick at the ringwalk on July 25. Especially with what AJ’s come back from,” he said. “Will he be the same? Everything we see in camp and in sparring lends us to suggest yes. But there’s a lot to overcome.”

BoxingInsider previously laid out the broader picture in its heavyweight division update, which placed Joshua vs. Fury in Q4 2026 with Netflix expected as the broadcaster and the promoter still disputed. Oleksandr Usyk continues to hold the WBC, WBA Super, and IBF titles, and Daniel Dubois holds the WBO title following his 11th-round stoppage of Fabio Wardley on May 9.

Joshua’s record stands at 29-4 with 26 knockouts. Fury is 35-2-1 with 24 knockouts, with both defeats coming against Usyk in 2024. Neither fighter has named a date or location for the year-end bout.