Hearn Says Joshua vs. Fury May Never Happen

The promoter’s latest comments signal a shift from expectation to uncertainty around the long-discussed heavyweight fight

The Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight has slipped out of the working plan and into doubt, and that turn is coming from the same side that once talked about it like a fight date, not a rumor.

When Eddie Hearn now says to Yahoo Sport there are “no guarantees” that Anthony Joshua fights again, and follows that by admitting he does not know whether a bout with Tyson Fury will “ever happen right now,” the outlook around the biggest all-British heavyweight fight of the era changes immediately. Promoters do not usually introduce doubt unless they are preparing the public for a long delay or a different outcome.

The Tone Has Changed

Before the December 2025 car crash in Nigeria that claimed two of Joshua’s close friends, the road ahead sounded mapped out. A March return stayed in the air, with Fury waiting down the line. It was discussed like a fighting order, grounded in business sense that both sides understood.

Now the language has changed. There is no timeline attached and no sense that anything is close. Hearn has said Joshua is training but not ready, and that the Fury fight may or may not happen. That is a meaningful shift from the certainty that once surrounded the matchup.

Joshua’s circumstances are serious and personal. The December crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele changes priorities in a way no fight date can compete with, and Hearn is right to say he needs time. From a business standpoint, though, time is not unlimited, and the longer this drags, the harder Joshua v Fury becomes to stage.

For years, that fight felt unavoidable because it was treated as something that would happen once the timing lined up. Now that assumption feels weaker, and Hearn is no longer speaking like a man closing in on a deal but like someone keeping every option open. The shift from “when” to “if” is subtle, yet it explains exactly where things stand.