Frank Warren Insists Joshua vs Fury is Safe Despite Venue Deadlock

‘The Fight is Signed’: Frank Warren Insists Joshua vs Fury is Safe Despite Venue Deadlock

LONDON — Promoter Frank Warren has fiercely rubbished fears that the highly anticipated heavyweight super-fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua is at risk of another catastrophic collapse, adamantly declaring that the historic bout is mathematically a "done deal".

Speaking to Sky Sports on Monday 22nd June, the Queensberry Promotions chief acknowledged that while contracts are firmly signed, the exact geographical location and calendar date for the all-British blockbuster remain completely unconfirmed.

The update lands amid a storm of intense media speculation suggesting the fight, ten years in the making, could be permanently uprooted from UK soil. While Warren admitted a critical multi-party summit must first take place to resolve logistical disagreements, he promised fans that the baseline contract remains completely secure.

"Nothing's been decided yet," Warren stated flatly regarding the venue. "But whatever happens, the fight is signed and it will happen. Because everyone wants it to happen. It's on, the fight is on—unless either of them get beaten in these next two fights, they're going to have the fight. I don't see any problems in getting this fight on."

The Complex Battle of the Walled Gardens

The behind-the-scenes scramble to lock in a location highlights an incredibly tangled web of competing broadcast exclusivity clauses and promotional overlapping.

In a radical structural shake-up for the sport, the global broadcast rights for Fury vs Joshua were quietly snapped up by Netflix earlier this spring. However, the streaming deal has inadvertently boxed traditional UK promotional heavyweights Warren and Matchroom's Eddie Hearn into a tight corner. Both figures operate under iron-clad, domestic exclusivity contracts with DAZN.

Warren candidly admitted that because the fight is locked to Netflix's global application, neither he nor Hearn can technically act as the lead on-screen promoters of record for the event. Instead, the ultimate operational control rests in the hands of Saudi Arabian financier Turki Alalshikh via Sela, alongside Zuffa Boxing president Dana White.

The venue selection has also triggered a major contractual tug-of-war. Joshua's side is understood to possess a legacy clause specifying a strong preference for a UK stadium, ideally a winter night under the arches of Wembley Stadium. Conversely, Fury's camp has spent the month exploring a mainstream US rollout, with the bright lights of Las Vegas currently tracking as the corporate frontrunner to secure the event.

The Two Final Hurdles

Despite Warren’s absolute boardroom confidence, the late-autumn timeline remains entirely contingent on both heavyweights successfully navigating high-risk, immediate tune-up bouts this summer.

Joshua, 35, is currently deep in training camp to face dangerous heavyweight Kristian Prenga on Saturday 25th July in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It marks a poignant competitive milestone for the Olympic gold medallist, serving as his first piece of ring action since surviving a tragic car accident in December 2025 that claimed the lives of two close team members.

Meanwhile, the 37-year-old "Gypsy King" is methodically plotting his own interim warm-up match. Having returned from a brief retirement in April to handily defeat Arslanbek Makhmudov on Netflix, Fury is expected to headline a separate showcase in August, potentially in Ireland, though an official opponent and date have yet to clear the regulatory hurdles.

The Path to the 2026 British Heavyweight Super-Fight

The Ultimate Alalshikh Summit

With billions of pounds in global streaming subscriptions and ticketing revenue hanging in the balance, the final operational verdict rests entirely on an upcoming elite executive summit spearheaded by Turki Alalshikh.

The Saudi powerbroker is expected to convene a closed-door meeting in London over the coming weeks, bringing Hearn, Warren, Dana White, and Netflix executives to the table to hammer out the final compromises.

"Sela, who the contract's with with Tyson, and I assume the same with AJ, they obviously have their preference where it will go," Warren explained, mapping out the final diplomatic stretch. "Netflix, who will broadcast it, they're going to have their preference. At the end of the day, everybody has got to agree and be satisfied. Let them get their respective fights out of the way—once that's done, then there will be an announcement."

For a boxing public long since exhausted by years of political posturing and aborted negotiations between the two iconographic British giants, Warren's absolute assurance offers a vital shot of adrenaline. While the physical ring has yet to be constructed, the legal architecture is officially unshakeable: as long as Joshua and Fury protect their records this summer, the biggest fight in British boxing history will finally clear its final hurdle.