Pop star Dua Lipa has rejected the chance to perform before Anthony Joshua takes on Tyson Fury. Saudi boxing chief Turki Al-Sheikh had said Fury and Joshua would only end their decade-long rivalry if the singer performed before they walked to the ring. But according to the BBC, the singer declined the opportunity when asked. A venue for the showdown has still to be announced but Wembley remains the frontrunner.
Fury, meanwhile, has instructed his team to arrange another warm-up fight before he faces Joshua. Fury ended a 14-month hiatus this month when he got the better of Arslanbek Makhmudov on points at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and subsequently traded verbal insults with a ringside Joshua. This ramped up excitement ahead of an eagerly anticipated domestic bout which has been years in the making. This week Joshua signed a contract to finally fight Fury, but another potential spanner in the works has emerged.
Further Complications
Joshua was already set for a tune-up bout on July 25 with Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga, which Queensberry promoter Frank Warren suggested could 'kill' any contest with Fury later in 2026 if an upset occurred. However, Warren has confirmed Fury also intends to step back in the ring before he faces Joshua, in a move which casts further doubt on the bout and increases the risk of an injury for either British heavyweight.
'I think he will probably want to be doing something in between, let's see,' Warren said. 'AJ has got his fight. Tyson, I'm quite sure, will have a fight in between. That's what he's asking for and we'll see where we go from there.'
More to follow.
