Promoter Eddie Hearn says he doubts the heavyweight world-title fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will take place in December given the former’s repeated public comments, but says both Matchroom Boxing and Queensbury Promotions are working hard to get the deal done.
WBC champion Fury, 34, has been increasingly more active on social media this past week, demanding on Monday that fellow Briton Joshua sign the contract for the proposed December 3 bout. Then, on Thursday, Fury said that he had extended the deadline until the end of the day.
Speaking to The National on Thursday evening, as he discussed the world title bout between Dmitry Bivol and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in Abu Dhabi in November, Joshua's promoter Hearn said: “We’re baffled, really. We’re all working hard to try to get the deal done, and all of a sudden we get these imposed deadlines randomly on Instagram, then [Fury's] pulled out of the fight, then he’s offered it to someone else. Then two days later he comes back and says, ‘Actually we’ll give you today’.
“It just doesn’t work like that. We’re all working really hard with [Fury promoter] Queensbury to try to make the fight. We’ve accepted all the terms, but we’ve got to paper it in the correct fashion. It’s the biggest fight in boxing, so it’s going to take a couple weeks to finalise a long-form agreement – that’s not unusual.
“But Tyson Fury says one thing, does another, and we don’t know really where we stand. But we’ll continue to work away and hopefully he’ll allow it to take its course and try to get this on. But I don’t hold my breath.”
Joshua's team have verbally accepted Fury's offer of a 60-40 purse split for December 3, which is expected to be held at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
Unbeaten in all 33 bouts as a professional, Fury has held the WBC crown since February 2020. Joshua, meanwhile, failed last month to regain the WBA, WBO and IBF belts in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh, losing via a split decision.
“Obviously, it’s a split in terms of the financials,” Hearn said. “AJ has a number of commercial deals already in place and at the moment we have no say, or no final say, as to any of the deals involved with the shows, which contractually we can’t do.
Gallery: Fury beats Whyte
“So we’re trying to overcome that. But it’s quite complicated and it involves speaking to a lot of people. Because AJ has always been the owner of his shows ultimately, and now he’s a co-owner of a show with different broadcasters, different sponsors, different promoters. And it’s complicated.
“But we’re all in on it. Queensbury are not putting us under any pressure; they’re not putting deadlines on us. But Tyson Fury pops up and says, ‘You’ve got to sign it today’. We’re going backwards and forwards, so there’s a lot of unrealistic deadlines.
“And I think the public are just starting to see now that, actually, maybe, he’s a little bit all over the place and he’ll end up fighting Manuel Charr in a terrible fight and pretend that it’s all because it’s AJ’s fault.”
On Thursday, in a video on social media directed at Joshua, Fury said: "The ball is in your court, everything is done. We have [broadcasters] BT, DAZN and ESPN all on the same page, they're happy with everything.
“If you have any dignity and pride about you, you'll get this contract signed today. I'm chucking you a massive bone, but I know I can punch your face in so I'm willing to give you an opportunity. Let the British fans have what they want.”
On how confident he was that the fight would happen, Hearn said: “Not very confident. After the last 72 hours, I think it’ll be very difficult to be confident. But we carry on. I’ve got a call with Queensbury after this and we’re trying.
Gallery: first Joshua v Usyk fight
“But if there’s a deadline that pops up … probably AJ, on Monday, should have turned around after Fury cancelled the fight and gone, ‘We’re moving on’. But we didn’t, we stayed in it, we kept trying. And I expect Fury to come out today and say, 'Right, time up again, I’m fighting Manuel Charr', which will be a huge disappointment for everybody.”
Matchroom Sport chairman Hearn said Queensbury were trying to push through with negotiations, but added that there was no way a deal could be finalised by end of Thursday.
“They know where we are up to in the negotiations and the contracts, so they know we can’t sign today, because we’ve just had their comments [on our contract revisions] back. But they’re trying to get Fury to be reasonable, which is easier said than done.”
Should Fury-Joshua not go ahead, Hearn said the plan would be to get Joshua back into the ring with two fights in relatively quick succession. He cited former WBC champion Deontay Wilder, or British heavyweights Joe Joyce and Dillian Whyte, as potential next opponents.
However, Hearn emphasised that all parties were continuing to attempt to complete the Fury deal, with Joshua already in training.
“He’s keeping himself to himself,” Hearn said. “He just sees the stuff on Instagram, which is generally a sign that you don’t want to do the fight, if you’re coming out and trying to rub people up the wrong way.
“But [Joshua's] training hard. December 3 is never ideal coming off the Usyk fight, but we were told that’s the only option. So he accepted that, he’s in training, and we’ll see what happens.”
Gallery: Fury v Wilder III
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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65
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
No_One Ever Really Dies
N*E*R*D
(I Am Other/Columbia)
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
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Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
