Eddie Hearn Says Anthony Joshua Took £10m Pay Cut for Tyson Fury Fight

Key Points

• Anthony Joshua accepted a reduction of more than £10 million to ensure his fight with Tyson Fury takes place in the UK, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.
• Hearn said Joshua was prepared to sacrifice an eight-figure sum after deciding that Britain was the preferred location for the long-awaited heavyweight contest.
• The fight is scheduled to take place at Cardiff’s 80,000-capacity Principality Stadium on December 11.
• Saudi boxing figure Turki Alalshikh, Dana White and Netflix had pushed for the contest to be staged at Madison Square Garden in New York.
• Hearn and Joshua maintained their preference for a British venue, with contractual arrangements involving Saudi entertainment company Sela ultimately allowing the UK option to prevail.
• Alalshikh said moving the event from New York cost him £53 million.
• The early timing of the ring walks will accommodate the American audience, meaning UK viewers are expected to watch the main event during the early hours of Saturday.
• Alalshikh wanted Wembley Stadium to host the event and had discussed having Dua Lipa perform, but he said the venue’s 11pm curfew made the plan unworkable.
• The Principality Stadium was selected partly because its retractable roof provides an alternative to the restrictions surrounding an open-air London venue.
• The development highlights the financial and logistical compromises involved in staging a major international boxing event for audiences in both Britain and the United States.

Britain Post News (BPN) October 1, 2026 – Anthony Joshua has agreed to take a reduced purse of more than £10 million to keep his long-awaited heavyweight fight with Tyson Fury in the UK, according to promoter Eddie Hearn, with the contest now scheduled for December 11 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. The decision followed negotiations involving Joshua, Hearn, Saudi entertainment company Sela, Turki Alalshikh, Dana White and broadcaster Netflix, with New York’s Madison Square Garden previously under consideration. Hearn said Joshua ultimately chose the British venue despite the substantial financial sacrifice, while Alalshikh separately disclosed that moving the event away from New York cost him £53 million.

Why Did Anthony Joshua Agree to Take a Pay Cut for the Tyson Fury Fight?

According to Duncan Bech of the Press Association, published by The Independent, Hearn said Joshua accepted an eight-figure reduction in his potential earnings because of his preference for fighting Fury in Britain. The report states that the reduction amounted to more than £10 million.

Hearn described the decision as one that ultimately belonged to Joshua because the money involved was the boxer’s earnings. According to the promoter, Joshua asked for his view on whether he should accept the lower purse in exchange for the fight being held in the UK.

Hearn said he believed there was an advantage to staging the contest in Britain, but also made clear that the financial difference was significant. Joshua then decided to proceed with the UK option.

The comments provide an explanation for why the British location was prioritised despite the competing commercial interests surrounding the event.

The precise contractual structure and final purse figures have not been independently detailed in the reporting. The figure of more than £10 million therefore remains Hearn’s description of the amount Joshua would have had to sacrifice.

Why Was New York Considered for the Joshua-Fury Fight?

The Independent’s Duncan Bech reported that the original push from some of the event’s commercial interests was for the fight to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Saudi entertainment company Sela is involved in the contractual arrangements surrounding the event. Hearn and Joshua nevertheless wanted the bout to remain in Britain.

According to the report, Turki Alalshikh, Dana White and Netflix had favoured New York. The American location would have provided a venue suited to the US market and the commercial requirements of an event being distributed internationally.

The negotiations therefore involved more than simply selecting a stadium. The location affected the financial arrangements, timing of the broadcast and the ability to serve audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.

The eventual choice of Cardiff means the contest will remain in the UK despite the earlier pressure for a New York venue.

Why Was Cardiff’s Principality Stadium Selected?

The fight is due to be staged at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, which has a capacity of 80,000 and a retractable roof.

Duncan Bech reported for The Independent that the stadium was selected after the UK option prevailed, with the retractable roof an important characteristic of the venue.

The stadium offers the scale required for a major heavyweight event while providing protection from weather conditions. That feature is particularly relevant when compared with an open-air venue, where weather and event operating conditions can create additional logistical considerations.

The Cardiff decision also keeps the event within the United Kingdom while moving it away from the original New York proposal.

For Joshua, the venue represents a British setting for one of the most significant fights of his career. For organisers, it provides a large stadium capable of accommodating a major international boxing production.

How Much Did Moving the Fight From New York Cost Turki Alalshikh?

Turki Alalshikh said the decision to move the event away from New York cost him £53 million.

The figure was reported by Duncan Bech in The Independent’s coverage of Hearn’s comments. Alalshikh also explained that the event’s timing would have to accommodate the American audience, with the ring walks taking place in the early hours of Saturday in the UK.

That arrangement illustrates one of the compromises involved in holding a globally marketed event in Britain.

A UK-based fight normally has to balance the preferences of domestic spectators with the viewing habits of audiences in North America. A later UK start can make the event more accessible to American viewers, while creating a less conventional viewing time for people watching in Britain.

Alalshikh’s £53 million figure is his stated estimate of the cost associated with abandoning the New York option. The available report does not provide a detailed independent breakdown of that figure.

Why Was Wembley Stadium Not Used for the Fight?

Alalshikh said Wembley was his preferred venue after the decision was made to hold the fight in the UK.

According to the account published by The Independent, he wanted to stage the event at Wembley and had also envisaged a performance by pop star Dua Lipa as part of the occasion. However, he said the stadium’s 11pm curfew prevented the required schedule from being accommodated.

The timing issue was particularly important because the event was also being organised around the American television audience.

Alalshikh said he wanted the London venue to remain available until 2am but believed that London would not permit the required extension. As a result, Cardiff became the alternative.

His comments indicate that venue selection was influenced not only by capacity but also by local operating restrictions and the international broadcast timetable.

The choice consequently moved the event from London’s Wembley Stadium to Wales, while still keeping it within the UK.

How Will the American Audience Affect the Fight’s Timing?

The international audience is one of the key factors influencing the timing of the event.

Alalshikh said the ring walks would take place in the early hours of Saturday to accommodate the American market. This means that British spectators watching from home are likely to see the main event at a much later hour than a conventional UK boxing programme.

The timing demonstrates the commercial importance of the United States to the event even though the contest will be held in Britain.

Netflix is among the broadcasters or distribution partners identified in the reporting, while Dana White has also been involved in discussions over the location. The original New York proposal was consistent with the interests of the American market, but the final agreement required the international audience to be served from a Cardiff venue.

The arrangement also explains why Wembley’s curfew became an obstacle. A venue unable to accommodate the required late schedule could not easily deliver the event structure desired by organisers.

What Did Eddie Hearn Say About Joshua’s Decision?

Hearn said public pressure to bring the contest to Britain influenced Joshua’s thinking.

According to Duncan Bech’s report for The Independent, Hearn explained that supporters had been asking for the fight to be staged in the UK and that Joshua had begun to respond to that demand.

Hearn said he told Joshua that he believed Britain was the appropriate location because there was an advantage to having the contest there, but he also stressed that accepting the UK venue meant giving up a substantial amount of money.

The promoter said Joshua then decided to accept the financial reduction.

The account is significant because it identifies the financial cost attached to the UK location while also showing that the final decision was presented as Joshua’s rather than Hearn’s.

The exact commercial terms of the alternative offer have not been published in the report, so the publicly available information does not establish what Joshua would have earned in New York compared with Cardiff beyond Hearn’s statement that the difference exceeded eight figures.

What Other Preparations Are Being Made for Anthony Joshua?

The Independent’s wider report also disclosed a development concerning Joshua’s training preparations.

According to Duncan Bech, Joshua has reunited with trainer Ben Davison for the Fury contest. Davison previously worked with Joshua before their separation following Joshua’s fifth-round knockout defeat by Daniel Dubois in 2024.

Joshua also said that Peter Fury, Tyson Fury’s uncle and former trainer, is willing to provide guidance.

Joshua clarified that the discussions with Peter Fury are about his own training and approach to the contest rather than information specifically about Tyson Fury. He said their contact had developed partly through his relationship with British heavyweight Matty Harris, who trains under Peter Fury and has sparred with Joshua.

The development adds another element to Joshua’s preparations but does not change the central issue surrounding the event’s location and financial structure.

What Does the UK Venue Mean for the Fight’s International Organisation?

The Cardiff decision reflects a compromise between the interests of the fighters, organisers, venue operators and international audiences.

Joshua and Hearn wanted the bout in Britain, while the New York option had support from other parties involved in the event. The eventual selection of Principality Stadium resolved the venue dispute in favour of a UK location.

At the same time, the event has retained a strong international focus. The early ring-walk timing is designed around the American audience, while the involvement of Netflix gives the contest a global distribution dimension.

The financial figures cited by Hearn and Alalshikh also demonstrate the scale of the commercial differences between possible venues.

Joshua’s reported decision to surrender more than £10 million and Alalshikh’s stated £53 million cost of moving away from New York are separate figures describing different financial consequences. They should not be treated as equivalent measures or as an independently verified account of the complete event budget.

What Is the Background to the Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury Fight?

The Joshua-Fury contest has been the subject of negotiations and speculation for years, with both fighters established as leading British heavyweight names.

The proposed contest has repeatedly involved questions about location, commercial arrangements and timing. Previous discussions have considered major venues in Britain as well as Saudi Arabia and the United States.

The latest arrangement places the event in Cardiff rather than New York. The Principality Stadium, with its large capacity and retractable roof, provides the venue for the December 11 contest.

The decision also maintains the fight’s connection with British boxing while allowing organisers to retain an international broadcast schedule.

The current reporting establishes the principal terms described by Hearn and Alalshikh, but the full commercial agreements between all parties have not been publicly disclosed in the available material.

How Could the UK Venue Decision Affect Boxing Fans and the Event’s Audience?

For British boxing fans, the most direct consequence is that the contest is scheduled to take place in Cardiff rather than New York.

The decision means spectators in the UK have a domestic venue for the Joshua-Fury contest, while those watching from home will have to account for a late-night or early-morning UK schedule because of the requirements of the American audience.

For international viewers, particularly in the United States, the timing is being structured to provide a suitable viewing window.

The financial concessions described by Hearn and Alalshikh also show how venue decisions can affect the economics of major boxing events. Joshua’s reported reduction in earnings, alongside Alalshikh’s stated cost of moving the event, indicates that keeping the contest in Britain involved significant financial adjustments.

The ultimate impact on audiences will therefore depend on attendance, broadcast arrangements, scheduling and the final delivery of the event. Those outcomes cannot be established in advance from the information currently available.

The immediate confirmed development is that the fight has been directed towards Cardiff, with Joshua accepting the reduced purse described by his promoter and organisers making scheduling and venue compromises to accommodate the international market.