“Makes it difficult. I’m not going to put a date on it. I think there’s so much of that in boxing, so much talk in boxing,” said Smith to ESBR Boxing. “Let’s just focus, as I’ve said in other interviews, in a constructive manner to try and make it happen. We want the fight. We’ve always wanted the fight. Hence why the fight was signed and announced four months ago. It’s just the fact that details now people want it to change, and that’s a process. I’m not going to put a date on it, but we’re fast approaching whatever that date is.”
The important admission is that such a deadline exists. Matchroom cannot wait indefinitely while trying to arrange the venue, ticket sales, travel, broadcasting, promotion, and two full training camps.
Thursday’s leaked list added more confusion. It included outstanding payments from previous Sela projects, Matchroom-selected undercard fights, and agreements involving darts and snooker.
Eddie Hearn denied that those items were part of the Fury-Joshua addendum. He said they came from separate communications concerning other Matchroom-Sela business. That distinction does not make the wider relationship any simpler while both companies are trying to complete a time-sensitive heavyweight promotion.
The formal document focuses mainly on increasing Joshua’s compensation to account for higher United States taxes, Hearn said, along with changes involving travel, accreditation, and media arrangements. Sela had not responded when he discussed it.
Madison Square Garden has become the leading venue under consideration, replacing the contracted British setting. Moving the event to New York involves far more than switching buildings, and the leaked material gives both sides a fresh public dispute to manage.
An announcement in early September would leave approximately 11 weeks to sell the event. Every delay reduces that window.
Matchroom may soon need to consider an alternative plan for Joshua. Finding one that protects the 36-year-old while maintaining his drawing power will not be easy.
His last two opponents were Kristian Prenga and Jake Paul. Neither fight did much to rebuild Joshua after Daniel Dubois knocked him out in five rounds in September 2024, the last time Joshua faced a top-tier heavyweight. A carefully selected replacement still involves danger. Prenga, a non-contender, dropped Joshua twice in July before Joshua recovered to win. Those knockdowns showed that Matchroom can no longer guarantee a routine night by lowering the level of opposition.
Joshua turns 37 in October. Giving him a third low-level fight risks further weakening his popularity, but placing him against a serious heavyweight may cost Matchroom the Fury fight entirely.
That leaves Hearn with little room. He needs the November 20 agreement completed soon or an opponent credible enough to draw an audience without derailing the largest remaining fight of Joshua’s career. A signed contract cannot preserve Fury-Joshua indefinitely while the revised terms remain unresolved.
