Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has urged British rivals Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury to hold their long-awaited showdown in Britain, even if it means he cannot attend ringside.
Tyson, who is barred from entering the UK due to past criminal convictions, stated that the fight would be best served on home soil for the boxers. "They're both English and if they come here, all the English people are going to come anyway. So you're home already, let's do it there!" Tyson told the Daily Mail.
Reports had emerged that Joshua and Fury had signed contracts to fight on November 20 in New York City. However, the prospect of the fight not being held in Britain has reportedly caused backlash. Tyson Fury himself claimed on Friday that the fight "doesn't look like it's going to happen," launching an expletive-laden attack on Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn.
Fury accused Hearn and Joshua of being "money-thirsty" and seeking more funds from the fight's backer, Turki. "They've had boxing deals, darts deals, snooker deals, they've had everything," Fury posted on Instagram. "And yet they've had the audacity and cheek of flea-bitten rats to ask for more money from Turki, who's given you everything combined in the last couple of years. You're disgusting, money-thirsty pieces of s***."
Tyson, speaking at an event in New York promoting his new Protein Sliders, expressed hope that the fight would still materialize. "It's going to be a great fight, it's going to be great for boxing. And I think they both still have enough in them once they get the desire," he said.
Joshua's contract reportedly included a stipulation that the fight must be staged in Britain, but this was seemingly contradicted by reports of an agreement for a New York venue. "It is what it is, same old cliche a decade later, keep running you little cowards," Fury added in his recent social media post.
Tyson drew parallels to his own past fights involving British boxers, noting that when he fought Frank Bruno twice, the arenas were filled with British fans despite being held in Las Vegas. "Everybody that [wants] to be there, they're going to come to the United States – it's going to be full of English people. It's just going to be just like it is over there," he explained.
Both fighters have had recent bouts. Fury has fought twice since his last defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024, securing wins against Arslanbek Makhmudov and Mariusz Wach. Joshua recently returned to the ring after a car crash, defeating Kristian Prenga. "People think they lose because they can't fight. They lose because they lose their desire. I'm sure [Joshua] would get back up for this fight. He's had exciting fights, [recently] the guy dropped him, he got back up and he clocked the guy. That was very exciting," Tyson commented on Joshua's resilience.