Promoter Eddie Hearn says Turki Alalshikh has informed him that he plans to make the fight with Tyson Fury for Anthony Joshua in 2026. Hearn says that Turki asked him if he agreed to the fight for Joshua against Fury, and he accepted.
Until now, the Fury vs. Joshua mega-fight has yet to take place, but Hearn is confident that Turki Alalshikh will deliver it in 2026.
Fury, 37, has not fought since losing to Oleksandr Usyk on December 21, 2024. ‘The Gypsy King’ Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) retired a month later on January 13, 2025.
Can Turki tempt the Gypsy King?
Turki will need convincing to get Fury interested enough to return. He is now incredibly wealthy, with a fortune estimated at $140–$160 million.
Whatever Turki offered him, it would have to be a figure that would tempt him enough to deal with the pain of training camp and the potential embarrassment of losing to the faster and more powerful Joshua. In Fury’s last three fights against Usyk and Francis Ngannou, he looked slow and elusive. He probably lost all three fights.
“Next year we will fight in February, and then we will fight Tyson Fury if Turki Alalshikh delivers his plans and strategies,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. talkSPORT on Anthony Joshua’s plans for 2026.
Hearn really wants the Fury vs. Joshua fight has to happen despite the decline both fighters have endured in recent years. He reckons there will be a huge amount of interest from fans in the UK and worldwide.
Global Hype vs British Nostalgia
It is doubtful whether supporters outside the UK will want to pay to watch a aging, decay and spoilage AJ and Fury are fighting at this point. Many non-British fans never rated Joshua and Fury as major heavyweights, even when they were at the height of their powers. Neither beat any big names except Wladimir Klitschko, who was at the end of his career.
Outside the UK, nobody cares
The Fury-Joshua fight may be overlooked by non-Brits, as seen with the celebrity-like rematch between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn this Saturday. While that fight attracted interest from British boxing fans, people outside the UK ignored it.
“We spoke to him in London this week. Everything we do with Anthony Joshua will be in accordance with and under the guidance of Turki Alalshikh. He has given us great opportunities,” Hearn said.
Fury vs. Joshua now falls into the category of a old fashioned type of fightalong the same lines as the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. exhibition in 2020, and the plans for Floyd Mayweather Jr. to face Manny Pacquiao in a rematch in 2026.
“It’s Turki Alalshikh’s responsibility to talk to Tyson Fury and try to make the deal. I can’t tell you we’re fighting Tyson Fury,” Hearn said. “What I can tell you is that Turki Alalshikh told us, ‘I’m going to make AJ against Tyson Fury. That’s your deal. Do you accept?’
“We accepted. Is the fight made? No. Because I don’t know where he (Turki) is with Tyson Fury. All I know is that he hasn’t managed to deliver a fight yet,” Hearn said of Alalshikh.
The $150 million question
With Turki’s money, he has an excellent chance of luring Fury back into the ring to face Joshua. If he offers Tyson over $100 million to take the fight. The question is, how much will Fury want?
It’s reasonable to assume he’ll want the kind of dough that Canelo Alvarez received for his recent ‘Fight of the Century’ against Terence Crawford on September 13, 2025. Canelo’s purse was reportedly $150 million for that fight. Predictably, Fury will consider himself the A-side against Joshua. So, $150 million to $175 million could be the ballpark he’ll be working at.
Last updated on 13/11/2025
