Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua on brink of collapse as Dana White and Eddie Hearn feud boils over

What is stalling the Fury vs Joshua fight?

The long-awaited heavyweight showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua is teetering on the edge of collapse, dragged down by an increasingly toxic public feud between UFC boss Dana White and promoter Eddie Hearn.

White, who is trying to broker the deal through Zuffa Boxing, warned this week that he is on the verge of walking away from the negotiating table entirely. The impasse centres on where the fight should take place—and, by extension, how much money it will generate.

Hearn and Joshua have pushed to keep the fight on British soil, with London’s Wembley Stadium and Cardiff’s Principality Stadium proposed for a December date. But White and the Fury camp have set their sights on Madison Square Garden in New York, arguing that a UK venue would severely limit the event's financial potential.

"If it happens in the UK, there’s a lot less money involved," White said during a media scrum on Tuesday. "My job is to come in, figure out how to make both of those guys money, and make the other people involved money."

Who is blaming whom?

White did not hold back in his assessment of Hearn, the Matchroom Boxing chief who has publicly blamed UFC’s parent company, TKO, for stalling progress.

"I’ve never seen a guy who is supposed to be the promoter of an event hurt the fight more than this guy has," White said. "There is no fight. If Eddie doesn’t like the way this is going down, then rip up the contract and do the fight yourself."

The public bickering has already prompted Fury to look elsewhere. The WBC champion recently threw his support behind White, called Joshua a "coward," and suggested he might bypass the domestic blockbuster entirely to pursue another fight with undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.

What happens next?

Despite the pessimistic noises coming from Las Vegas, those closest to the negotiations insist a deal is still within reach. Fury’s management told Sky Sports that the fight is "100 per cent happening," with Cardiff emerging as a strong frontrunner to host a £200 million winter spectacle. Hearn has also dismissed White's verbal broadsides as Cardiff discussions continue behind the scenes.

Adding to the circus surrounding Fury, Nigerian heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba has threatened to release video proof of a sparring session in which he claims he nearly knocked the champion out.

For now, boxing fans are left watching a familiar waiting game. Whether White’s threats to walk away are a genuine exit strategy or simply high-stakes leverage remains to be seen, but time is rapidly running out to salvage the biggest fight in British boxing history before the end of the year.