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Fury vs Joshua: 2AM Cardiff Fight Date Approaches

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"Fury vs Joshua: 2AM Cardiff Fight Date Approaches"

Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua could finally be done and dusted within days, with Friday, December 11 in Cardiff now emerging as the intended date. The price of bringing Britain’s biggest heavyweight fight home could be a remarkable and polarizing 2am main event.

After all the smokescreens surrounding Fury’s renewed pursuit of Oleksandr Usyk and Joshua patiently waiting for his UK terms to be met, there may now be little more than the final details standing between the rivals and an official announcement.

Former WBN Lead Writer Dan Rafael reports, citing a source with direct involvement, that December 11 is now the intended date in Cardiff if everything is finalized. November 28 and December 4 had also been discussed, with permits and other bureaucracy still to be completed.

Joshua remained largely silent while Eddie Hearn repeatedly insisted that his fighter had signed for a UK fight and expected those terms to be honored.

Fury, meanwhile, publicly attacked Joshua over the delay before turning his attention back towards a third fight with Usyk.

From WBN’s perspective, the Usyk talk always looked more like another Fury smokescreen than a fight that was seriously going to derail Joshua. With the Cardiff agreement now edging closer, that assessment appears increasingly justified.

Fury vs Joshua Nears Agreement

Fury is reportedly the remaining party who needs to approve the latest changes, having repeatedly stated on social media that he wants to fight Joshua.

If everything goes smoothly over the coming days, WBN understands the agreement could be completed by the end of the weekend, with a press conference being lined up for later this month.

That would finally end a venue saga that has taken Fury vs Joshua from Saudi Arabia to Britain, across the Atlantic to New York and now back to the UK.

Joshua ultimately stood his ground, with Hearn revealing this week that Joshua rejected considerably more money to stage the fight in New York. His fighter remained determined to stick to the UK terms contained in his agreement.

Cardiff’s Principality Stadium now appears to have provided the answer, although there could be one significant compromise.

UK Fans Face 2AM Main Event

The proposed 2am start remains a sore point for British fans and could become the price of keeping Fury vs Joshua in the UK.

Netflix had backed New York as the preferred location, which would naturally have placed the fight in American prime time. A 2am main event in Cardiff would put Fury vs Joshua at around 9pm Eastern Time in the United States, allowing Netflix to retain a prime-time audience there while Joshua gets the British venue he fought to keep.

It would create the extraordinary situation of two British heavyweights finally meeting in Britain, only for thousands inside the Principality Stadium to watch them enter the ring in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The unusual Friday date creates a complication for supporters traveling to Cardiff, particularly with the event potentially running until well after 2am.

There is at least some history at the venue. Joe Calzaghe’s victory over Mikkel Kessler in 2007 began in the early hours to accommodate American television.

Almost two decades later, British fans may have to accept a similar compromise for a fight they have waited far longer to see.

After years of failed negotiations, abandoned plans and changing locations, that may finally be the compromise that gets Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua into the same ring.

Britain gets Fury vs Joshua, but British fans may just have to stay awake until 2am to see it.


About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

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Boxing

Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbilli Undercard Revealed: Multiple World Title Fights Highlight Boxing Event

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"Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbilli Undercard Revealed: Multiple World Title Fights Highlight Boxing Event"

With a few weeks to go until the event, the full undercard for Canelo Alvarez‘s clash with Christian Mbilli has finally been revealed.

Canelo hasn’t been back in the ring since he lost his undisputed super-middleweight crown against Terence Crawford in September 2025.

The Mexican superstar will now look to reclaim world honours when he challenges Mbilli for his WBC super-middleweight title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 31, though there are current concerns over the card due to the ongoing security issues in the region.

As of now it is still set to go ahead as planned, and the event will feature three more world title fights after the remaining bouts on the bill were revealed, with all of them tying in with the ‘Mexico vs The World’ theme that the show is featuring.

In the co-main event, Canelo’s stablemate Jaime Munguia is set to defend his WBA super-middleweight title against Nikita Zon, though his mandatory Bektemir Melikuziev has hit out and claimed he has not agreed to step aside to allow the bout to go ahead.

Elsewhere, Rafael Espinoza defends his WBO featherweight title against Lorenzo Parra, while a vacant IBF super-lightweight title bout sees Lindolfo Delgado meet Artur Biyarslanov. Two super bantamweight stars will also be in action as David Picasso squares off with Carl Martin.

Rounding up the card, Reito Tsutsumi takes on Raymundo Rojas, Sultan Al-Mohammad meets Erick Villegas, Bek Nurmaganbet collides with Marcos Vazquez, Carlos Emiliano goes up against Flavius ​​Biea and Bryan Leon faces Hector Aguirre.

Despite the promotion continuing, there have been concerns that the card is in jeopardy due to the escalating Houthi–Saudi conflict.

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Deontay Wilder Set to Face Undefeated KO Artist on Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua Undercard

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"Deontay Wilder Set to Face Undefeated KO Artist on Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua Undercard"

Deontay Wilder may return to the ring in 2026 according to a recent report.

The former WBC heavyweight world champion was last in action in April when he beat Derek Chisora by split decision – just the second points win of his career, the other 43 victories coming by way of knockout.

The performance allowed the hard-hitting American to show a grit and desire that perhaps hadn’t been witnessed since his trilogy with Tyson Fury, and was particularly absent in losses to Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker, in which he looked tentative and gun-shy.

Despite being strongly linked with former undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk as the Ukrainian’s final opponent before retirement, it appears that ‘The Bronze Bomber’ could now build on that Chisora win by facing Jai Opetaia on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua this December, as reported by Ring Magazine’s Mike Coppinger.

The Cardiff mega fight will be broadcast live on Netflix, and those behind the scenes are understood to be building a card that will attract a global audience. Manny Pacquiao, Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez and Keyshawn Davis have all been named as potential additions.

Like Wilder, Opetaia has recently been linked with a major fight of his own. The two-time cruiserweight champion has made no secret of his desire to fight David Benavidezwho may have three of the four major belts if he beats Mikael Cieslak in December.

This fight would see the Aussie move up to heavyweight for the first time in his career – a jump he has always said will happen, but only after his work is done at 200lbs. With Wilder being a relatively light heavyweight – weighing in as low as 212lbs for his first fight against Fury – it may be a perfect introduction to the division for Opetaia, though he will be aware that the American can hit harder than most of his contemporaries.

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Jermall Charlo Withdraws from Fundora vs Hadribeaj Show Due to Injury

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Jermall Charlo Withdraws from Fundora vs Hadribeaj Show Due to Injury

This marks the second time in three months that the matchup fell apart, as Charlo (34-0, 23 KO) failed to secure a visa for their planned clash in New South Wales this summer. Despite Mazoudier’s (16-4-1, 6 KO) local appeal being its sole selling point, PBC shunted it onto their Sebastian Fundora vs Ermal Hadribeaj show in Las Vegas, but it seems no amount of Charlo-proofing can get the big guy into the ring.

For those keeping score, he’s now had three fights in six years.

In steps former WBA titlist Jose Armando Resendiz (16-3, 11 KO), who upset Caleb Plant for the belt last year before losing it to Jaime Munguia in his inaugural defense. It’s still not a good matchup, as Mazoudier is a blown-up super welterweight, but Resendiz is usually a middleweight himself and is coming off a loss. I can live with that.

The evening’s other undercard bout, Brandon Figueroa’s featherweight title defense against Tomoki Kameda, remains intact.

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