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.
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