Amid links to a massive return to boxing, Anthony Joshua has been thrown another lifeline to a long-standing grudge fight with Tyson Fury.
Stll tied to a lucrative fight with Jake Paul in his return to the ring, former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is currently locked in talks to fight the Ohio star.
And dividing opinion with the current sweepstakes to fight him, Joshua has been backed to fight Paul later this year by one of the sport’s best analysts.
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But a veteran promoter has now offered Joshua and Tyson Fury the chance to finally settle their grudge in an overdue fight as soon as next year.
Eddie Hearn reveals plan to book Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury in 2026
Dealing with a lengthy headache to book the all-British showdown between Joshua and Morecambe veteran Fury, Matchroom Boxing leader Eddie Hearn revealed he has not given up on the pairing just yet.
In fact, as soon as 2026, Hearn claimed he hoped Joshua and Fury would finally be booked to share the ring together — in his dream clash of the annum.
“AJ (Anthony Joshua) [versus] Jake Paul — I’m only joking,” Hearn told IFL TV when asked which fight he wanted to book next year.
“AJ [versus] Tyson Fury. That’s the fight — there are a few fights. AJ against Tyson Fury, ‘Boots’ (Jaron Ennis) against Vergil Ortiz; another fight that I’d love to make. And then lots of others.
“‘Sugar’ Nunez against Emmanuel Navarette, Diego Pacheco against Canelo Alvarez — or Hamzah Sheeraz. I like that fight as well. ‘Bam’ (Rodriguez) against (Naoya) Inoue. I also like (Dmitry) Bivol against (Jai) Opetaia. I think that’s a tremendous fight.”
However, given their recent history, a pairing between Joshua and Fury may be more difficult to sanction than ever.
Tyson Fury rips Anthony Joshua over ‘joke’ fight links
Recently weighing in on Joshua’s potential fight with Paul, former undisputed WBC heavyweight champion Fury was less than pleased by those links.
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Namely, the long-time nemesis of Joshua described the prospective clash as a “joke” — as well as a mooted clash between Joshua and fellow Olympic gold medal winner Andre Ward — who expressed his interest in a retirement U-turn.
“Jokes how many people wanting (sic) AJ (Anthony Joshua) now,” Fury posted in a now-deleted comment on social media.
“Who next? The winner of Canelo (Alvarez) vs. (Terence) Crawford?”