Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury fight reportedly targeted for December 11 in Cardiff

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury’s proposed heavyweight fight is being lined up for December 11 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, according to a report from veteran boxing journalist Dan Rafael.

The deal has not been completed, with permits and other administrative details still to be resolved. November 28 and December 4 were also discussed before organisers settled on the later date as their current target.

“Per source with direct involvement, [Joshua-Fury], if all is 100% buttoned up, will be on [December] 11 in Cardiff. Still will take some time to wrap up the bureaucracy of getting permits in place. [November] 28 and [December] 4 were also dates part of the discussion,” Rafael wrote on social media.

A Cardiff fight would end weeks of disagreement over whether the all-British contest should be staged in Britain or the United States. Turki Alalshikh, Netflix and Zuffa Boxing promoter Dana White had favoured Madison Square Garden in New York and a November 20 date, with the US option regarded as more lucrative and better suited to reaching a global audience.

Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, resisted that proposal because the former unified heavyweight champion’s contract stipulated that the fight should take place in Britain. Hearn said Joshua could have earned considerably more by agreeing to the switch but was unwilling to abandon the original terms.

“That is why, unfortunately for these people, the fight will not be taking place in America, because Anthony Joshua is not a sell-out,” Hearn told IFLTV. “Anthony Joshua could have taken many millions more to do the fight in America.”

White criticised Hearn’s stance, arguing that the promoter was hurting the event and Joshua by refusing to change the agreement. Hearn, who has promoted Joshua since he turned professional in 2013, maintained that he was following his fighter’s instructions, even though he also stood to benefit financially from a more lucrative purse.

“We want the fight in Britain,” Hearn said. “The support that we’ve had on social media has made us double down on our principles on this. We’re not trying to hurt the fight.”

He added: “We’ve never done anything else and what he [White] can’t get his head around is that Anthony Joshua won’t take a little bit more money to do the fight in America, because he cares. He cares where the fight is. He cares about British boxing, and he cares about the contract that he signed.”

Wembley Stadium returned to consideration after Hearn publicly pressed for the fight to remain in London, but the venue’s 11pm curfew presented a problem. Netflix required a start time suited to US prime time, which could place the main event no earlier than 2am in Britain.

The Principality Stadium has previously staged boxing into the early hours, while its retractable roof would offer protection from the Welsh winter. Joshua also has experience at the venue, having stopped Carlos Takam there in 2017 before defeating Joseph Parker on points in 2018. Fury has not previously boxed at the stadium.

Both heavyweights completed interim assignments in July while negotiations continued. Fury stopped Mariusz Wach in Thailand on July 24. Joshua fought Kristian Prenga the following night and recovered from two first-round knockdowns to secure a second-round knockout.

Organisers must now obtain the necessary permits and settle the remaining operational details for a late-night event in Cardiff.