Fury and Joshua fight hinges on 24-hour window, BBC Sport says

Tyson Fury's proposed path to Anthony Joshua ran through a 24-hour stretch between Friday and Saturday, with Fury due in Pattaya for Mariusz Wach on 24 July and Joshua set for Kristian Prenga in Riyadh the next day. Fury had already reignited the chase at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where he beat Arslanbek Makhmudov on a unanimous points decision over 12 largely one-sided rounds and called out Joshua ringside.

Fury, 37, had returned after 15 months away from the ring following his latest retirement. Joshua, 36, was preparing his own comeback bout against Prenga, and the timing of those two fights formed the basic test for whether the heavyweight showdown could be moved from speculation to contract talks.

The matchup depended on Fury getting through the Wach fight and Joshua not taking another interim bout. If both sides cleared that hurdle, Croke Park in Dublin emerged as a September option, with the 80,000-seat venue identified as a possible stage for one of British boxing's most delayed meetings.

Eddie Hearn has said the Joshua-Fury bout had to happen by the end of 2025 or it would never happen. He has also said it could be agreed quickly, even by a direct message between the fighters, but he has added a major wrinkle: Joshua's contract requires the fight to take place in the UK unless Joshua agrees new terms for a US venue.

That left the deal exposed to a narrow set of decisions. Fury had to keep winning, Joshua had to stay out of a detour, and the promoters had to settle venue and contract terms before the calendar closed. Oleksandr Usyk's second reign as undisputed heavyweight champion has already changed the division, but the Fury-Joshua route still depended on paperwork, timing and a 24-hour window that could either unlock the fight or shut it down.