Luke Littler has criticised the scheduling of the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua fight, which was confirmed for the opening night of the World Darts Championship in December. The long-awaited Battle of Britain will take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Friday 11 December, the same date Littler is due to begin his title defence at Alexandra Palace.
Fight and darts clash on same night
The Fury vs Joshua ringwalk is expected around 2am on Saturday morning to suit a US audience, while the darts session will finish before midnight. Littler addressed Eddie and Barry Hearn, who run Matchroom Sport, the promotional company that oversees the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Joshua has also been represented by Matchroom and Hearn throughout his professional boxing career.
Writing on Instagram, Littler said: “A message to the Hearns (promoters): what is this? Opening night of the World Championship (world champion plays on opening night 11th December) and you put one of the biggest fights in Britain on the same night. You had one job.”
Social media reaction
Littler’s comments were widely mocked online. One user wrote: “Almost like the world doesn’t revolve around him.” Another added: “Luke Littler crying about fury v Joshua being on the same night as his first world championship match. It’s not all about you buddy.” A third asked: “Is Luke not aware the fight starts at 2am?”
A couple of hours after his initial post, Littler added: “Why’s everyone so sensitive it’s literally a JOKE cmon guys.”
Recent defeat and tournament boycott threat
Littler’s attempt to win all major PDC titles in 2026 ended on Sunday with a 10-4 defeat to Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals of the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam. He also threatened to boycott Dutch tournaments after being booed during wins over Danny Noppert and Nathan Aspinall, with referee Charlie Costorphine forced to intervene. Littler said he is “100 per cent” ready to skip European Tour events in the Netherlands, as he already does in Germany due to similar treatment.
