Talks over a long-rumoured heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua were back on for a bout at Wembley Stadium as of Friday, according to promoter Eddie Hearn, after a row over moving the fight to New York's Madison Square Garden. A day earlier, the fight had been heading to Madison Square Garden for a November 20 date, with Joshua's team floating the idea of pulling out altogether in protest.
Joshua's camp was angered that a contract signed three months ago, which stipulated a UK venue, was being torn up so that streaming service Netflix could get a fight time that suited American viewers. The Saudi power brokers behind the bout, led by Turki Alalshikh, were reported to have sided with the broadcaster over the British venue, which is what triggered the anger from Hearn and Joshua.
The tax dispute behind the row
Hearn has said in interviews this week that tax conditions in the United States were unfavourable for Joshua, and further detail has emerged on what that means in practice. If the fight is staged in London, the tax for two non-UK residents would be around 20 per cent, compared with a US withholding tax of around 30 per cent.
Joshua and Fury are each in line to receive approximately $100 million (around £74 million) for the fight. A jump from 20 to 30 per cent tax would leave both fighters roughly $10 million worse off on the money they take home, Joshua to Dubai and Fury to the Isle of Man.
Fury has not publicly objected to the US tax arrangement, and neither has his promoter, Frank Warren. Joshua's team, however, viewed the New York move as a significant pay cut on the deal he had signed, feeding into their wider frustration that the fight was being shifted abroad.
Who holds the power
Whichever motivation carried more weight, some sense may yet prevail if the fight ends up in the UK. But the final say rests with Netflix, which is thought to still see greater value in staging the fight in the US, and Saudi organisers Sela, who have been guided on the fight by Alalshikh.
Alalshikh has already played an unusual role in the saga over a London date. In early July he began pressing City Hall, saying curfews in the capital would need adjusting to allow for a start time that suited American audiences. Posting on X, he wrote: "Hopefully a positive statement from the Mayor of London's office about a later start time if Fury v Joshua is in London, as so far we have been told it is not possible."
Mayor's office disputes claim
That claim came as a surprise to those on the receiving end. No request was made by Sela to Mayor Sadiq Khan's office until mid-August, and when talks did take place, the mayor's office made clear a later start time would not be a hurdle. Khan has since said publicly that he wants the fight held in London.
One theory holds that Alalshikh's early intervention was little more than a gesture, allowing organisers to say they had tried to secure a UK date. For more than a decade, plans to match Fury against Joshua have repeatedly stalled, and the pair are yet to fight each other.
