Mike Tyson has dismissed plans for Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury to fight in New York, insisting the British heavyweights should settle their rivalry on home soil even though he himself is barred from attending in London.
Joshua and Fury are understood to have signed contracts to fight on November 20 in New York City, according to the Daily Mail. But the venue has sparked a backlash, and on Friday Fury claimed the fight "doesn't look like it's going to happen" in an explosive rant aimed at his rival and Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn.
Tyson told the Daily Mail the fight must be held in Britain. "It's going to be a great fight, it's going to be great for boxing… even though I can't go, I'm barred from London, I think London should get the fight," he said.
Why Tyson wants an all-English crowd
Tyson, one of the most feared heavyweights in history, argued that British fans would travel to America in such numbers that the fight would effectively be a home game regardless of the venue.
"They're both English and if they come here, all the English people are going to come anyway. So you're home already, let's do it there!" he said. "Everybody that [wants] to be there, they're going to come to the United States, it's going to be full of English people. It's just going to be just like it is over there."
He pointed to his own bouts against Frank Bruno as evidence. "There ain't going to be many Americans there because they'll sell it out. All the English, very few Americans, sold it out when I fought Frank Bruno," he said, referring to their two fights in Las Vegas.
Tyson is blocked from visiting the United Kingdom because of his criminal past. The former heavyweight champion was jailed for rape in 1992 and has also been convicted of assault, cocaine possession and driving under the influence.
Tyson still backing the fight to happen
Tyson made his comments at an event at the Sugar Factory in New York's Times Square, where he was promoting his new Protein Sliders, which he hopes can help people eat more healthily. The event began just hours after Fury's rant, and the 60-year-old said he remained hopeful the fight would still go ahead.
"It's going to be a great fight, it's going to be great for boxing. And I think they both still have enough in them once they get the desire," he said.
Fury and Joshua's recent form
Fury has fought only twice since suffering a second consecutive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024. After another brief retirement, the 38-year-old has beaten Arslanbek Makhmudov and, most recently, Mariusz Wach.
Joshua, meanwhile, recently returned to the ring for the first time since surviving a car crash that killed two of his closest friends. He beat the unheralded Kristian Prenga, climbing off the canvas twice in the first round before securing a second-round knockout.
Tyson said Joshua's ability to recover from being dropped showed he still had the hunger to fight on. "People think they lose because they can't fight. They lose because they lose their desire. I'm sure [Joshua] would get back up for this fight. He's had exciting fights, [recently] the guy dropped him, he got back up and he clocked the guy. That was very exciting," he said.
Contract dispute over the venue
Hearn has revealed it was written into the 36-year-old Joshua's contract that the fight had to be staged in Britain, only for reports of an agreement to fight at Madison Square Garden in New York to emerge this week.
In a post on Instagram on Friday, Fury wrote: "Quick update: Doesn't look like they're going to sign the fight, doesn't look like it's going to happen. All because Eddie Hearn and that want more money."
He continued: "They've already had that much money off of Turki in the last few years, Eddie and AJ. They've had boxing deals, darts deals, snooker deals, they've had everything. And yet they've had the audacity and cheek of flea-bitten rats to ask for more money from Turki, who's given you everything combined in the last couple of years."
Fury added: "You're disgusting, money-thirsty pieces of s***. It is what it is, same old cliche a decade later, keep running you little cowards."
