Hearn Says Fury–Joshua Talks In Final Stages — UK Target For November

• Hearn told Sky Sports on Friday April 24 that Joshua-Fury negotiations are "in the final stages" — two-fight package, July warm-up, November Fury fight
• UK is the target venue. Hearn "hopeful" Turki Alalshikh chooses the UK over Riyadh — Wembley or Tottenham the obvious destinations
• Usyk was "part of these conversations" per Hearn — the implication is Joshua-Fury winner gets the unification with Usyk in 2027

Right Then — The Quote That Matters

We've had eleven years of this fight being "close." Eleven years of Hearn and Frank Warren and Bob Arum and various Saudi power brokers all swearing that contracts are nearly signed. Make no mistake, every single time it has fallen apart. But the Hearn quote on Sky Sports on Friday — and the specifics around it — read differently this time. "We will have a contract and we haven't signed a contract yet," Hearn told Sky, "but we are negotiating the final points in an agreement to come back to the ring in July and (then) fight Tyson Fury." Two things to flag. One, "we will have a contract" — that's promoter shorthand for "the major terms are done." Two, "the final points" — meaning the back-end stuff is being haggled (broadcast rights, weight, undercard, glove brand, all the boring contract appendix stuff). When Hearn talks like this, he's usually 80% confident. Usually.

The Two-Fight Structure

The deal is reportedly two fights under one signature. Joshua takes a July warm-up first — the leading candidate, per Hearn's own briefing earlier this month, is Dillian Whyte. Old rival, sells out an arena, low risk of an upset against an AJ shaking off a year of inactivity. Hearn's pitch on the warm-up was straight: "The good news is if we take a (warm-up) fight like this, we have signed to fight Tyson Fury and all you've got to do is bite your fingernails in July for 36 minutes or less and you've got not the fight of the century, the fight of all-time." "Bite your fingernails" — that's a tell. Hearn isn't expecting Joshua to look brilliant in July. He's expecting Joshua to win the warm-up, get his timing back, and walk into November against Fury. That's a defensible plan — but it puts an enormous amount of pressure on the July fight not breaking the deal. One bad cut, one shoulder problem, one upset, and November falls apart.

The UK vs Saudi Question

The most interesting Hearn quote on Friday was about venue. "He is not going to put it in some random place... I am hopeful that the fight takes place in the UK." That's a public play, and it's smart. Hearn is putting pressure on Turki Alalshikh — who controls the cheque book on basically every mega-fight at this point — to choose the UK over Riyadh. Joshua's commercial argument: this is a UK fight, a national-event fight, and the UK fans deserve it on home soil. Alalshikh's counter-argument: Riyadh has the venue, the production, and the 9-figure budget already lined up. Luke's read: it lands in the UK. Wembley or Tottenham. Reason being — Alalshikh has already booked September 19 in Riyadh for Canelo-Crawford II and is putting Usyk-Verhoeven in Egypt on May 23. He doesn't need the UK fight for his own portfolio. Letting it run at Wembley keeps the British market warm, gives the Riyadh card breathing room from the AJ-Fury build-up, and lets Alalshikh take a producer credit without owning the venue. That's a clean win-win.

The Usyk Twist

The most underrated bit of Hearn's interview was about Oleksandr Usyk. "I am sure they won't mind me saying it, a lot of this has come from Oleksandr Usyk. He was part of these conversations and the conversations were absolutely he is having a comeback fight." That's a proper revelation. Usyk has Verhoeven on May 23. After that, by Hearn's framing, he goes into a sit-and-wait mode while the AJ-Fury winner emerges. The implied 2027 schedule: - May 2026: Usyk vs Verhoeven (WBC heavyweight) - Jul 2026: Joshua warm-up - Nov 2026: Joshua vs Fury (UK) - 2027: Usyk vs winner of Joshua-Fury (undisputed) That's a clean three-fight programme that delivers the heavyweight division everything it has been promising for five years. If it actually lands, 2026-27 becomes the best heavyweight stretch we've had in twenty years.

Where Frank Warren Is

One name conspicuously absent from Hearn's Sky interview: Frank Warren. Tyson Fury is a Queensberry fighter. Any Joshua-Fury deal needs Warren's signature, not just Hearn's. And Warren — who has been more cautious than Hearn through every previous false start — hasn't yet matched the "final stages" language publicly. That's not necessarily a problem. Warren's style is to keep his powder dry until the contract lands on his desk. But it does mean Hearn's "final stages" might be Hearn's final stages. The ink isn't dry on the Queensberry side yet, and any deal can still collapse if Warren and Fury push back on the venue split or the broadcast structure. Watch for Warren's first public statement after Saturday night's result schedule clears. If he echoes Hearn's "final stages" tone, the deal is genuinely close. If he's quiet or hedges, we're back in familiar territory.

What Could Still Break It

If you know, you know — five things that have killed every previous Joshua-Fury negotiation and any one of them can do it again: 1. Joshua loses the warm-up. Whyte upsets, or AJ pulls out injured. Whole structure collapses. 2. Fury fights elsewhere first. Fury has talked about taking another tune-up after Makhmudov. If he insists, the November date slips. 3. Venue stalemate. If Alalshikh insists on Riyadh and Hearn pushes for Wembley, neither side blinks for a year and we're at this same conversation in April 2027. 4. Broadcast politics. Fury's on Netflix. Joshua's on DAZN. Splitting that revenue pool is the actual hard part. 5. Either fighter retires. Joshua at 36, Fury at 37. One bad camp, one bad result, and one of them walks away. Five ways this still falls apart. Don't bet your house. But for the first time in eleven years, Hearn is using language that suggests he believes it's actually happening.

The Verdict

The clock is ticking and the words from Hearn are the strongest we've ever had. Not "we're talking" — "final stages." Not "potential venue" — "the UK." Not "we hope" — "we will have a contract." Take that with the appropriate British-boxing-cynicism pinch of salt, but acknowledge it for what it is: the closest the biggest fight in this country's history has been to actually happening. Brilliant if it lands. November 2026, Wembley, Joshua vs Fury, Usyk waiting in 2027. That's the calendar Hearn wants. Let's see if Warren signs.