Joshua vs Fury clash to headline 2026 Riyadh Season

File: Fury and Joshua

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Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua has long been one of the biggest fights that could be made in boxing.

Now, it’s as close as it has ever been to finally happening.

The Ring has learned that a bout between the former heavyweight champions is planned to headline a Riyadh Season card in 2026. Before that can come to fruition, though, Fury and Joshua will fight in separate bouts in early 2026.

Joshua is also set to face Jake Paul on December 19 in an eight-round bout on Netflix in Miami.

The 6-foot-9 Fury would be coming out of retirement again after consecutive defeats to current unified and former two-time undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua, 36, is looking to rebound from his fifth-round knockout loss to former IBF champion Daniel Dubois.

This isn’t the first time Joshua and Fury have been close to facing each other. In 2021, the British stars were on the cusp of fighting to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion. Deontay Wilder, however, exercised a rematch clause after Fury stopped him in dominant fashion in the seventh round of their rematch, leading to a third bout between them. Joshua had to face Usyk.

Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) lost a unanimous decision to Usyk, while Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) climbed off the deck twice to stop Wilder in the 11th round in a Fight of the Year contender to defend his WBC heavyweight title. Usyk went on to defeat Joshua in a rematch before beating Fury, 37, twice in 2024, with the first victory making him the undisputed heavyweight champion.

Fury vs. Joshua has been teased throughout their careers. Even if there are no titles on the line, it remains one of the biggest fights that can be made.

And if they don’t step into the ring to face each other next year, it’ll go down as one of boxing’s biggest what-ifs in recent memory.

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