Tyson Fury has confirmed that his heavyweight fight with British-Nigerian Anthony Joshua will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York, putting an end to months of speculation about the site.
The former world heavyweight champion broke the news on Instagram, posting a photo of himself and Joshua against the New York City skyline. However, no date was included with the post.
“What a place, NYC, and what a venue, MSG, and what a fight, Fury vs. AJ, the land of opportunity,” Fury wrote.
“What a weekend away for the lads on the piss in NYC. Iconic! Not long now, guys.”
Joshua was not tagged in the post, and neither the two-time world champion nor his promoter, Matchroom Boxing, acknowledged the news as of this writing.
The bout is expected to take place in November, with November 20 as the planned date, after both fighters signed contracts with Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.
Joshua’s original contract required the fight to take place in the United Kingdom, but organizers Netflix and Alalshikh lobbied for a battle in the United States, prompting his promoter, Eddie Hearn, to enter into new talks to allow the bout to relocate to America.
Hearn stated that Joshua’s team remained averse to hosting the fight outside of the United Kingdom but recognized that it had to work for all parties involved.
“We don’t want to do the fight in the US, but we also understand it has to work for everybody,” Hearn said.
“We’ve set out our position, mainly in concern for 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,” Hearn said.
Fans reacted negatively to the announcement, questioning why an all-British battle was being held in America rather than at a site like Wembley Stadium.
Fury, 38, has won 36 of his professional fights, losing only twice to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in 2024. He returned to the ring in July, defeating Polish opponent Mariusz Wach in a tune-up fight in Pattaya, Thailand, having previously retired from the sport following his second loss to Usyk.
Joshua defeated Kristian Prenga in a tune-up contest on July 25 in Jeddah, which Hearn said cleared the door for discussions with Fury’s camp to move forward.
Plans for a Fury-Joshua battle first fell apart in 2021, when a US judge decided that Fury must face Deontay Wilder in a trilogy contest instead.
