‘If either fighter loses, you cannot do the fight’: Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury cannot afford a slip up

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - APRIL 18: Eddie Hearn, Chairperson of Matchroom Sports, looks on during the Matchroom Sport fight card at M&S Bank Arena on April 18, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images) | Getty Images

British heavyweights Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are on a collision course for the end of the year, but neither man can afford a slip up as both intend to take interim fights that lead into that much bigger one later. Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn tells Sky Sports that should either man come up short in their tune-ups, it will completely derail their fight, so far as he’s concerned.

Joshua is currently scheduled for a July 25th fight against little-known Kristian Prenga and Fury is expected to take a summer fight as well before meeting Joshua this fall, although no specific opponent has been formally mentioned at this time.

“In my opinion if either fighter loses, you cannot do the fight,” Hearn told Sky Sports. “I will feel sick at the ringwalk on July 25. Especially with what AJ’s come back from. I mean there is that worry. Will he be the same? Everything we see in camp and in sparring lends us to suggest yes. But there’s a lot to overcome. That’s the importance of this fight as well in July.”

Fury most recently fought Arslanbek Makhmudov, but Hearn expects Fury to take a softer touch than that for his summer outing, and should everything come through clear British fans should be well suited for a fight they’ve long awaited.