The drama surrounding the Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua fight doesn’t appear to be over yet.
After months of drawn-out negotiations, it was finally announced this week that Fury and Joshua were set to meet at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Friday 11 December.
It meant that Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn secured staging the bout in the UK, as per their original contract, after event organisers Sela and broadcaster Netflix pushed to make it happen in New York.
Hearn revealed this week that, despite the announcement, there were still other issues to be ironed out, particularly the inclusion of rival promoter Dana White, raising some concerns from boxing fans that the fight could yet still fall by the wayside.
Those concerns may have become a reality, after Ring Magazine’s Mike Coppinger reported that the fight could already be in doubt and be replaced by a clash between Terence Crawford and Ryan Garcia.
“Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua could be called off due to issues, according to sources, and a replacement fight between Terence Crawford and Ryan Garcia is being considered.”
Crawford last fought in September 2025 when he defeated Canelo Alvarez to become undisputed super-middleweight champion, before retiring from the sport three months later.
Garcia is the current WBC welterweight champion, defending the belt with a second-round knockout over Conor Benn earlier this month, and has been involved in a war of words with Crawford throughout 2026.
While a match-up between ‘Bud’ and Garcia would certainly interest fans, it would be a disaster if the fight between Fury and Joshua did fall through just days after being officially announced.
Many, however, will regard this update as just the latest gamesmanship in what appears to be a messy behind-the-scenes situation. The ‘issues’, and how that might lead to a contracted bout being cancelled, remain unclear.
