London mayor Sadiq Khan requests Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua fight Wembley

The British super-fight has been mooted to take place in New York, but ‘AJ’ is digging in his heels in hopes of a Wembley showdown

Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua in the stands at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London. Picture date: Saturday April 11, 2026. (Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images) | PA Images via Getty Images The sordid saga of Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua seems destined to drag on forever. In November, Fury and Joshua were supposed to finally face off in a fight well over a decade in the making. The two British heavyweight boxing champions have circled each other for years, and in April, the bout was finally signed. But things took a turn over the ensuing months, with the primary point of contention seeming to be the location of the fight and the involvement of TKO. Joshua’s team claims the fight they signed on for was to take place at Wembley Stadium in London, while Fury’s team is pushing for the fight to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York. The two sides appear to be deadlocked on the matter, with Hearn telling DAZN on Saturday after Katie Taylor’s retirement fight that TKO went behind his back to offer Joshua an undisclosed amount of money to agree to the change of venue. “Yesterday [Friday], TKO went around the back again to try and offer Joshua money to do the fight in America,” Hearn said. “It’s a dirty, dirty game, mate, to be honest with you. It’s made it even harder for them now because Joshua ain’t about that. ‘You’ve got an hour and a half to make your decision.’ “‘Like, mate, what don’t you understand? I signed to fight in Britain. I want the fight in Britain.’ “You can’t buy everybody. Especially the ones who it means something to. And you know the crazy thing is, the more support AJ’s getting because of his desire to stage the fight in Britain, the more determined it’s making him to do it. … “Listen, life is short,” Hearn added. “When it’s all said and done, and it’s all over, that’s what you’re going to remember. You ain’t gonna remember going to New York because the broadcaster thought he’d get more celebrities there. You’re going to remember the moment: 100,000 people gathered for the greatest sporting event our country’s ever seen.” Fury, however, is not especially focused on that, even acknowledging that the fight was originally signed to take place in London. But Fury seems content to fight in New York City, even praising Dana White and TKO for getting “it all over the line.” Hearn, meanwhile, has a different perspective. “If they [TKO] had never gotten involved in the first place, the fight would already be announced and signed,” Hearn said. “They are the ones that are trying to bring this fight to America. They are the ones that are basically saying to British fight fans, ‘We don’t give a fuck. We don’t care about British fight fans. We want to do the fight in America, because that’s where we’re from.’ “Now, because of what they’ve said in the past, they’re so desperate. They’re panicking, and they’re doing silly things like that. And they’re going to get in trouble. “We’ve already written to them,” Hearn continued. “But it’s like, ‘What are you doing? You’re on the New York Stock Exchange. What is this? Like just coming around the back and trying to bank someone a few quid?’ C’mon. It doesn’t got to be like that. But it’s pushing the fight farther away because of their behavior.” And for his part, Fury appears to have given up on the long-awaited fight. “The Gypsy King” has been ripping Joshua and Hearn since the issue arose, and on Sunday called for Oleksandr Usyk to step in and replace Joshua for a fight at Madison Square Garden. “So, it looks like AJ has shat his pants yet again,” Fury said on an Instagram Story. “After 11 years, he’s finally shat his pants yet again. So this would only lead me to a fight with Oleksandr Usyk. “Oleksandr, you were his trainer and his sensei, and you know he’s a weak-minded piece of shit, and that he would never fight The Gypsy King. Which you’ve had the guts to do twice. Twice! And you know how difficult it is in there. Listen, you got the decisions last time; fair play to you. Good luck to you, but let’s do it again. Let’s run it back in November. The ball is now in your court, Oleksandr. “Do you want to fight me this year, 2026, or are you calling it quits? Let me know, because I’m now looking for a new opponent.”

JEJEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA - JULY 25: Anthony Joshua (camouflage shorts) wins his Heavyweight contest against Kristian Prenga during the Anthony Joshua v Kristian Prenga: The Comeback fight night at Jeddah Superdome on July 25, 2026 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing/Getty Images) | Matchroom Boxing/Getty Images The ongoing saga for a big British heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua continues to take its twists and turns. While it would seemingly be an obvious choice for the two British stars to collide on UK soil, financial backers of the fight have been keen on looking to stage the fight in New York instead. That change of plans goes against the contract Anthony Joshua signed for the fight, and while they’ve been trying to renegotiate terms to have the fight Stateside, Joshua’s Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has also been actively campaigning to have the intended location reconsidered. After all those efforts seemed to be fruitless, Hearn now posts on his social media that talks have reopened to consider Wembley Stadium as a potential landing spot for the fight. “I want to thank everyone for the unbelievable support! You have been heard and talks have now re-opened for Wembley. Let’s make history with one of the biggest sporting moments 🇬🇧 has ever seen.” View this post on Instagram Backing Hearn’s attempts to bring the fight back home, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has spoken out to Sky Sports in support of having the fight in the UK, emphasizing that he’s let promoters know he’s willing to lend his hand in seeing it come to fruition after having been approached by Hearn on the subject. “I understand the temptation of going to Madison Square Gardens,” Khan told Sky Sports News. “I understand the temptation of the money and offer, but the fans are here. We’ve been loyal to Tyson and to Anthony. We love them both, and we’d love to see them boxing here in London. At face value this would at least appear to be a final effort from Hearn trying to exert the full court press on Turki Alalshikh and Netflix. Whether it pays off or not, we’ll know one way or another sooner than later.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan says he is "really keen" to host the proposed Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua fight at Wembley Stadium and has urged promoters to get in touch.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan says he is "really keen" to host the proposed Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua fight at Wembley Stadium and has urged promoters to get in touch.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has urged Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua's promoters to "get the fight to London" amid speculation the clash between the British boxers could take place at Madison Square Garden in New York.