Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury remains the dream British super-fight, and Turki Alalshikh has reignited hopes of making it happen in 2026, reports worldboxingnews.com.

The influential Saudi advisor revealed plans to stage the all-British showdown next year, but only after both men return in separate tune-up fights to rebound from recent defeats.

Speaking to ThaBoxingVoice, Alalshikh explained the condition. The Ring Magazine boss is implementing a carefully crafted strategy to maximize anticipation and rebuild momentum for the heavyweight blockbuster.

“Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury next year, we are trying to do it and thinking about it. I need to have a tune-up fight for each one first. Why? Because they are both coming from losing. It’s to build it up.”

The comments mark Alalshikh’s most direct statement yet on the future of Joshua and Fury, who are both coming off setbacks to undisputed heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk and his today’s opponent, Daniel Dubois.

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury must both overcome one last hurdle to seal long-awaited fight

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are on the verge of finally getting their hands on each other.

British boxing fans have been clamouring to see the domestic dust-up for the best part of nine years.

But despite several attempts to get the blockbuster showdown over the line, both men are yet to meet in the ring.

That could be about to change next year, though, with Turki Alalshikh hatching a plan to stage the all-British clash in 2026, provided they both come through tune-up fights first.

“Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury next year, we are trying to do it and we are thinking about it,” said Alalshikh during a recent appearance on ‘The Boxing Voice’.

“I need to have for each, one tune-up fight first.

“Why? Because they are both coming off losses. It’s to build it up.”

Tune-up fights have proved costly to Alalshikh’s plans in the past.

The Saudi boxing mogul thrashed out a deal with Joshua and Deontay Wilder for the pair to meet in March 2024, contingent on both boxers winning their respective fights on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ bill four months prior.

Joshua held up his side of the deal by blasting Otto Wallin away inside the distance.

However, Wilder came up short against Joseph Parker, thus derailing a lucrative encounter with AJ.

The same thing happened when Alalshikh dangled a money-spinning rematch in front of Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney earlier this year.

Haney beat Jose Ramirez on Ring Magazine’s unprecedented Times Square card in May, but Garcia fell to defeat against Rolly Romero.

While it makes sense to have Joshua and Fury rebuild their careers after coming off defeats in their last outings, it would be a travesty for British boxing if the bout succumbed to the same fate as the aforementioned examples.

Joshua vs Fury remains one of the most commercially viable fights in the sport today, despite both men’s current run of form.

Fury is coming off back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk and has only recently reversed his retirement after seven months on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Joshua hasn’t boxed since last September when he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium.

Fury is currently filming a documentary with Netflix and won’t be able to fight again until next year.

If Alalshikh is insistent upon the duo having tune-up fights, then that means their long-awaited meeting will likely fall sometime in the second half of 2026.

Tyson Fury might not need Anthony Joshua for an all-British heavyweight super-fight as Daniel Dubois eyes ‘new era’

When Tyson Fury declared that he intended to return to boxing, he revealed he wanted to pursue a trilogy fight with Oleksandr Usyk rather than a long-awaited all-British battle with Anthony Joshua; But London’s Daniel Dubois is convinced beating Oleksandr Usyk would lead him to Fury

Tyson Fury might not need Anthony Joshua for an all-British heavyweight super-fight when he returns to boxing.

Fury announced his retirement at the start of this year, but has subsequently declared he will come back in 2026.

The former world champion is targeting a trilogy with Oleksandr Usyk, rather than a long-awaited all-British battle with Anthony Joshua. But London’s Daniel Dubois is convinced that, if can defeat the Ukrainian, he will be on course for a clash with Fury himself.

“Certainly,” Dubois told Sky Sports. “That’s a good position to be in. To be the man. You’ve got to come to me for all the belts if you want to be making some money and being in big-time boxing. It’s a good position.

“For sure, the future’s bright, when the heavyweight division is healthy, business is good.

“It’ll be like a bringing of a new era. The old guys sort of fading out and a new crop coming through.”

Promoter Frank Warren, who represents both Dubois and Fury, doesn’t think a fight between the pair is out of the question. “No, it’s not. It’s up to Tyson,” he told Sky Sports. “[It’s] very bright for British boxing.”

Dubois is fighting a rematch with Usyk at Wembley stadium, and may have a third fight with the Ukrainian if he is victorious on July 19.

“It shows that boxing’s very much alive in this country,” Warren said. “We’ve got to see what happens after the fight. It’ll be one a piece.”

Usyk won their first bout when he halted Dubois inside nine rounds in 2023. Although Usyk has never lost a professional bout, and has beaten Tony Bellew, Derek Chisora, Anthony Joshua (twice) and Tyson Fury (twice) along the way, Dubois is adamant that he now knows how to beat him.

“I’ll give him a real fight this time. That’s all I’ve got to say,” Dubois said. “We’ll have a game plan on the night. We’ve gone over it and ready to execute it now. We’ve got it all covered, I think.

“I’m preparing for him, we’re going to deliver.

“I know myself, I know I wasn’t 100 per cent right for that [first] fight,” he continued. “I’m not even looking back at that, I’m looking at a whole other fight, a whole different, fresh project.

“I don’t try and look back too much because we’re going forward in life. I’m a man of the future.

“Those two fights against Fury, those were definitely his moments. He’s got wear and tear, he’s been around a while.”

Dubois insisted: “Fury doesn’t throw bombs like I do so we’ll see.

“I need to make sure it’s going to be a passing of the torch. I’m the new fresh fighter, I’m the young lion and this is my time.”

Itauma in the mix?

Usyk, a small, fast southpaw who has proved to be peerless in the heavyweight division, is a difficult opponent to replicate in training.

Moses Itauma, an electric heavyweight prospect from the UK, is not small, but he is a wickedly quick southpaw. Dubois though has not been sparring with him in his training camp.

“Not a lot of fighters can [replicate Usyk], I don’t think, even southpaws, but we’ve got alright sparring, we’ve got alright work and sparring, everything combined is going to get me in the right place,” Dubois said.

“We’ve got guys like [Itauma] anyway, similar guys, similar fighters, so I think we’re covered.”

On Itauma’s current trajectory he could be a future opponent for Dubois. That fight could come sooner than most expect too.

“Yeah, possibly yeah, that’s what the game’s about. But I’m focused, tunnel vision on what I’ve got to do. First things first,” Dubois said.

“I’m going to win all the titles that’s the next step.”

The sweet science has never been short on dream matchups—but some linger longer than others. One of them is the tantalizing clash between two titans of British boxing: the thunderous Olympic gold medalist from Watford and the undefeated giant with a gypsy soul. Fans have been salivating over Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury for years, but as the bout remains stuck in a promotional tug-of-war, opinions have begun swirling like a good left hook.

Amid this never-ending “Will they, won’t they?” comes a surprisingly sharp jab from none other than Frank Bruno, the beloved former WBC heavyweight champion and British boxing legend from the 90s. Speaking to IFL TV’s Kugan Cassius during a candid ringside interview—clearly still energized by the roar of the sport—Bruno pulled no punches while discussing who he believes would come out on top if the long-anticipated clash took place tomorrow.

When asked if he still watches the sport, the 63-year-old legend grinned: “Yeah, I watch boxing all the time—that’s my life. You always want to watch the boxing. There hasn’t been too much on at the moment, but I hope it comes into a season where a lot of people are fighting one another and it gets very busy.” It wasn’t long before Cassius steered the conversation into deeper waters: the elusive AJ vs. Fury fight.

Bruno, who once battled Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis in his prime, didn’t hesitate. “Money talks, and bullsh*t always walks, man,” he smirked, before diving into the hypothetical: “When the money’s right on the table, you’ll see them jump to it like flies. It should be a good fight once they get together.” But when pressed on who he’d favor in that fantasy fight, the Londoner dropped a heavyweight opinion: “I’d edge it to Joshua, you know what I mean? I think Tyson Fury has seen better days. AJ’s still younger, hungrier, and wants to prove himself. So he’ll have that fight in him—and he’ll do a good job.”

While the boxing world keeps talking, one man might finally be doing the walking—quietly stitching together the showdown fans feared would never happen.

His Excellency Turki Alalshikh emerges as the quiet architect behind the long-awaited Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua super fight

The road to Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua has been so long and winding, it’s practically got its own postcode. While fans have grown numb to repeated postponements and cryptic callouts, it seems someone behind the scenes might finally be piecing the puzzle together—and he doesn’t throw punches, he pulls strings. In a recent IFL TV interview, Matchroom head Eddie Hearn lifted the curtain on the man he believes could finally make the mega-fight happen: Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh.

Hearn recalled a recent public outing with Joshua at Wimbledon, where the former unified champ was swarmed by fans. “AJ must’ve had about 4,000 photos yesterday. He didn’t turn one down… it takes like an hour to walk 50 yards with him,” he said. According to Hearn, Joshua calmly told him, “Look, I’ve given up trying to understand him years ago. I’m just doing my own thing.” While Fury remains elusive and unpredictable—“rebellious,” in Hearn’s words—AJ is quietly preparing for a fight later this year, regardless of who stands in the opposite corner.

But this isn’t just a tale of two personalities. The real shift, Hearn hinted, may be strategic. Speaking to BoxingScene via Instagram, he revealed: “They want them both to have a comeback fight. And then, in my opinion, Turki [Alalshikh]’s going to move straight forward and make AJ-Fury.” Alalshikh, the man already credited with orchestrating Fury vs Usyk, now has his sights set on closing boxing’s biggest unfinished chapter.

Former world champion George Groves has claimed that a blockbuster bout between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua is either already signed or close to being finalised, saying both fighters are likely to meet next without interim bouts, The PUNCH reports.

Groves said he believes Fury’s temporary retreat from the spotlight is simply part of the build-up before an official announcement.

“I don’t think you need to convince him,” Groves said in an exclusive interview with CasinoBeats when asked what it would take to bring Fury out of his brief retirement.

“I think it’s done. He’s fighting Joshua. He’s just switched off from boxing for a bit. I’m almost certain that the fight is either signed, sealed, delivered and just not announced, or well on its way to being done.”

The former WBA super-middleweight champion added that both heavyweights are past the stage of needing warm-up fights and are ready to face each other despite their recent form.

“Joshua wouldn’t have a warm-up fight. Those ships have sailed. They’ll just fight each other,” Groves said.

“They’re both coming off losses, so neither of them is in particularly good form. Fury’s probably been in worse form than Joshua. Joshua got beat by Dubois. Up till then, he was doing okay.

“Knocked out a cage fighter. Fury had life and death with a cage fighter. So yeah, it’s two heavyweights, former world champions, they want to roll around, have a little fight.”

Groves even suggested tongue-in-cheek that the long-awaited fight could happen in a cage, referencing the pair’s recent respective match-ups with MMA crossovers.

Reflecting on Joshua’s place in British heavyweight history, Groves offered a strong comparison with another former world champion, David Haye. While many fans have fantasised about a Joshua-Haye dream match-up, Groves was clear on where he stands.

“Haye was a lot better fighter than Anthony Joshua,” Groves said bluntly.

“He was so fast, so powerful. If he hit you, he could get rid of you. And I’ve seen him spar the likes of Deontay Wilder, Carlos Takam and other quality heavyweights in his prime. He handled almost all of them.”

The 37-year-old, who trained with Haye during his career, recalled just how difficult it was to even land a jab on the former cruiserweight and heavyweight world champion.

“I had a lightning-fast jab, really good reactions, but I couldn’t land a glove on him. He could jab and feel like he shoved my teeth out of my head. It was the most frustrating thing ever. Heavyweights shouldn’t be able to do that,” Groves recounted.

He described a hypothetical fight between Haye and Joshua as a shootout but maintained that Haye’s technical gifts and speed gave him the edge, even if both had the power to end it with one shot.

“Haye was a gifted amateur. He won silver at the World Championships. Maybe I’ve seen more of Haye than Joshua so I’ve got a bit of bias, but I think it would have been a 50–50 fight. A great one.”

Groves, who retired in 2018, and remains one of the most respected voices in British boxing also weighed in on recent rumours surrounding Dillian Whyte and Moses Itauma, after Derek Chisora reportedly turned down a £2m offer to face the 29-year-old heavyweight prospect.

“Whyte’s in it for the paydays,” Groves said.

“He doesn’t have the credibility or the profile of Chisora. His options aren’t the same.”

Asked about Whyte’s interest in reigniting a fight with Anthony Joshua, Groves referenced their scrapped bout last year and Joshua’s well-known stance on drug offences in the sport.

“They were scheduled to fight again, weren’t they? Then Whyte tested positive for drugs. And Joshua isn’t a fan of that,” he said. “When Big Baby Miller did that to him, Ruiz stepped in and he came unstuck. Joshua doesn’t like last-minute replacements and he definitely doesn’t like drugs in the sport.”

Anthony Joshua will return to boxing in 2025 and Tyson Fury fight hinges on his performance

The boxing world is waiting for dominos to fall in the heavyweight division. Oleksandr Usyk is one month away from fighting for the undisputed titles against Daniel Dubois, in a rematch from 2023. Meanwhile, the industry awaits Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury‘s next move.

Amir Khan Delivers New Verdict On Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua Fight: “He Has The Power”

There is still hope that Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will manage to come together in the ring, and now Amir Khan has given his verdict.

Fury and Joshua will go down in British heavyweight boxing history as two of the biggest stars of their generation. Fury began his professional career first while Joshua was busy winning an Olympic gold medal at London 2012.

When Fury left the sport with issues outside of the ropes after dethroning Wladimir Klitschko, Joshua took the reigns and became a unified world champion by beating the likes of Charles Martin, Joseph Parker and Klitschko. He didn’t lose until 2019 when he was stopped by underdog Andy Ruiz Jr.

‘AJ’ avenged that loss but was then beaten in 2021 and 2022 by future undisputed king Oleksandr Usyk.

It was also Usyk who handed Fury – who returned to the ring to defeat long-reigning champ Deontay Wilder twice – the first and then second losses of his career.

His failed attempt to become undisputed against Usyk in May 2024, then the loss in the rematch, meant he announced his retirement back in January and, for now, put an end to hopes of a showdown with Joshua.

Speaking to The Stomping Ground, former world champion Khan made his case for both men should ‘The Gypsy King’ return.

“It’s a hard fight to call cause styles make fights. Joshua has so much power, strong, Fury boxes so well. I would love to see the fight, it is a 50-50 fight. Both guys have been put down. What a fight it would be.

“But one thing about Fury, Fury is just a hard ba***rd, isn’t he, he’s solid. If you don’t knock him out, he keeps getting back up. He’s one guy you’re going to be in a hard fight with. When you’re in the ring with Fury, you’re going to have to dig deep. When you’re in with ‘AJ’ he has the power to knock out anyone.”

Joshua is set to return following minor elbow surgery later this year and is being linked with the likes of Wilder, while as of writing, Fury remains adamant he will not be making a comeback.

Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury must happen this year, says George Groves: ‘I wouldn’t bother with any other fights’

George Groves is himself no stranger to being in a domestic rivalry, as he pleads with Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury to clash.

The British legend once fought Carl Froch in an iconic duology which ended in back-to-back defeats for ‘Saint George’. But this is why the former super middleweight champion has urged both parties to make a deal.

Rumours have circulated of Anthony Joshua mounting a return with a two-fight deal which could see him face Jared Anderson.

And with Tyson Fury reportedly training in the gym, despite his retirement, the conversation about a potential bout has returned.

George Groves wants Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury this year

While AJ is scheduled for a comeback against a different opponent, the 37-year-old believes there is no other fight to make.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “If I was either guy, I’d just fight each other and that’s it. I wouldn’t bother with any other fights.

“I’m sure the money’s great and that but who’s going to be paying through the nose for either guy to not fight each other?

“Just save it now, fight each other with no more mileage on the clock, no more risks.”

Groves believes there is a “number” which would make it “worthwhile” for both men that they are holding out for.

Now Turki Alalsheikh is involved in the sport, money is not seen as an obstacle to super fights.

As soon as the money is agreed, the Hammersmith fighter thinks it should happen as soon as possible.

He said: “That fight will be nailed on. He’s had surgery, Joshua, and Fury’s out running. I’m pretty sure they’ll box in September, October, rematch next year.”

Other all British heavyweight contests

This contest would likely be one of the biggest British heavyweight fights of the last two decades if sealed.

Wembley would be the only location but it would bring back sore memories for the Watford boxer.

Last September he took on fellow Brit Daniel Dubois but was devastatingly knocked out in the fifth round.

Although he has successfully beaten a fellow compatriot with a seventh-round stoppage of Dillian Whyte in their London derby.

Morecambe’s own is also no stranger to a domestic dust-up.

A night in one of boxing’s greatest venues Wembley Stadium saw the then-WBC champion floor Whyte with an uppercut in the sixth round to retain his crown.

He also holds three wins over Derek Chisora with the most recent being a tenth-round stoppage at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

However, these pale in comparison to Lennox Lewis’s seventh-round TKO of Frank Bruno at the National Stadium.

Their 1993 clash surrounded an era of a UK boom period in the sport and their bout should be a blueprint for this era’s heavyweight spectacle.