Tyson Fury’s manager makes big request before Anthony Joshua fight, despite worries about a possible withdrawal
Tyson Fury’s manager has made it clear that one demand needs to be met before the Gypsy King faces Anthony Joshua in their long-anticipated heavyweight fight.
Fury is set to return to the ring on Friday afternoon, July 24, in Pattaya, Thailand, where he will take on Polish veteran Mariusz Wach. Meanwhile, Joshua will fight Albania’s Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, July 25. This will be Joshua’s first fight since a tragic car accident in Nigeria in December 2025 that took the lives of two of his close friends.
Both of these upcoming fights are expected to be more like tune-up matches to build excitement ahead of a possible all-British showdown at Wembley Stadium sometime in 2026.
Joshua is eager to make the fight happen at this iconic London venue, but Fury has expressed some doubts in the lead-up to his fight with Wach. Speaking to Sky Sports, Fury said he might be open to fighting someone else later this year instead of facing Joshua right away.
“Let’s not focus on silly Mr. Bodybuilder,” Fury said. “I’m not interested in him or his friends. I don’t care if I see him again or not.”
In response, Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, expressed concern about Fury possibly backing out, saying he’s seen Fury pull out of fights before. “If anyone might pull out, it won’t be Anthony Joshua,” Hearn said. “AJ has fought all the top guys and even signed to fight Fury before. Don’t worry about AJ — he’s always ready. But we’re less sure about Fury, especially if AJ has a strong showing on Saturday.”
Meanwhile, Fury’s manager, Spencer Brown, remains focused on making the fight happen. He’s asking the World Boxing Association (WBA) to put the WBA ‘Super’ heavyweight title on the line for the match. “That belt is vacant, so why not have these two fight for it?” Brown told BoxingScene. “It would be a great fight, and one of them would become a three-time world champion. WBA, please get in touch!”
Right now, the heavyweight titles are split up. Oleksandr Usyk gave up the WBA ‘Super’, WBC, IBF, and Ring Magazine belts. Agit Kabayel holds the WBC title, Murat Gassiev is the WBA champ, and the IBF belt is vacant with a fight ordered to decide the next champion. Britain’s Daniel Dubois currently holds the WBO title.