Tyson Fury has vowed to knock out Anthony Joshua within seven rounds when the British heavyweights meet at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11, but the long-awaited showdown has been thrown into fresh doubt.
Fury, speaking publicly for the first time since the bout was confirmed, predicted a one-sided victory over Joshua and described the former two-time world champion as a “stepping stone” towards a third fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
The former heavyweight champion said he planned to use the Joshua fight as preparation for another meeting with Usyk, who defeated him twice on points in 2024.
“I’m just going to knock him out, one hundred per cent,” Fury said on the Furocity YouTube channel.
“I’m going to box the head off him and stop him inside six or seven rounds.
“I’m only using Joshua as a stepping stone, a warm-up to Usyk.”
Fury also questioned Joshua’s speed and stamina, claiming the former champion would struggle to cope with his style.
“Joshua, for me, is an old bum. A weightlifter. Too many weights, not enough speed. Too many weights, no cardio. So I will cut through him like a hot knife through butter,” he said.
However, the proposed all-British showdown now faces uncertainty after a dispute over the venue and fresh claims surrounding Joshua’s participation.
Joshua and Fury signed separate contracts earlier this year, with Joshua’s agreement reportedly requiring the fight to take place in the United Kingdom this winter.
After both men won their respective warm-up fights in July, a dispute emerged over where the fight, which has been more than a decade in the making, would be staged.
The negotiations have involved Eddie Hearn, who has represented Joshua since he turned professional in 2013, and Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter since his comeback in 2018. UFC chief executive Dana White has also become involved.
Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh instructed TKO, which owns the UFC, to secure a deal with Netflix to broadcast the fight.
TKO also holds a 40 per cent stake in Zuffa Boxing, the company founded by White. The remaining 60 per cent is held by SELA, a company backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Hearn has said White played a key role in convincing Alalshikh that the fight should be staged in New York, with Madison Square Garden proposed as the venue on November 20.
That proposal, however, conflicted with Joshua’s contractual requirement that the bout be held in the UK.
Hearn and Joshua reportedly refused to accept the change, with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium subsequently announced as the venue in the early hours of December 12. A press conference was also scheduled for the following Wednesday in London.
The announcement, however, failed to end the dispute.
On Friday night, Fury took to social media to accuse Joshua of threatening to withdraw from the fight. Alternative match-ups were subsequently discussed on social media, including a potential Fury bout with cruiserweight world champion David Benavidez.
Joshua had planned to travel to London at the weekend ahead of his media commitments but remained in Dubai, while Fury continued his preparations in Miami.
The uncertainty has cast fresh doubt over whether the highly anticipated British heavyweight clash will proceed as planned.
