Hearn Fires Back at Fury: Joshua 'Can't Pull Out' of November Clash

Eddie Hearn has a one-word answer for Tyson Fury's suggestion that Anthony Joshua is trying to bail on their November showdown: contracts. The Matchroom promoter took to social media to shoot down the 38-year-old's claim that "it looks like AJ has pulled out," pointing out the obvious — you can't walk away from a fight you've already signed for. Joshua, 29-4 with 26 knockouts, and Fury, 36-2-1 with 25 stoppages, have both inked deals for a bout that's been circling the heavyweight division for years.

The sticking point isn't whether the fight happens. It's where. Hearn has spent weeks insisting Joshua's contract mandates a UK venue, while Fury has shown no such loyalty to home soil, reportedly content to let Netflix stage the event at Madison Square Garden. Two separate deals, two different sets of terms — and one very public standoff.

The Location Standoff

Hearn's resistance appears to be softening. The promoter has handed Sela, the Saudi-backed organisers financing the card, an addendum stacked with demands on Joshua's behalf. Meet the conditions, and the 36-year-old is likely to board a plane to New York. It's a negotiation dressed up as a fight, and both camps know it.

There's a grim symmetry to the potential MSG booking. That's the exact building where Joshua's aura first cracked back in 2019, when Andy Ruiz Jr dropped him repeatedly and forced a seventh-round stoppage in one of the sport's great upsets. AJ has rebuilt since — his most recent outing was a sixth-round knockout of crossover attraction Jake Paul — but a return to the scene of that ambush would add a layer of narrative nobody scripted.

Fury, for his part, is enjoying the chaos. He's cast doubt on whether the fight materialises at all, and Hearn dismissed the comments as good fun with no substance behind them — the usual, as he put it. The #3-ranked heavyweight last fought to a seventh-round retirement win over Mariusz Wach, so he's hardly short on ring activity to back up the talk.

For now, the fight is signed but the venue is a battlefield. Hearn is playing hardball for the UK; Fury's shrugging and eyeing New York. If the addendum lands, expect Joshua to swallow his reservations and cross the Atlantic. And if it doesn't, well — that's when the contract Hearn keeps waving gets tested for real.