Fury makes U-turn, backs Cardiff for Joshua fight

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Tyson Fury has thrown his weight behind Cardiff as the venue for his long-awaited heavyweight clash with Anthony Joshua, describing the prospect of fighting in Wales as a potential homecoming.

Friday, December 11, is the date being mooted for the two Britons to meet at the Principality Stadium, with the Welsh capital now the strong favourite ahead of New York and the Middle East.

Negotiations between both camps and broadcaster Netflix are ongoing, with an announcement expected as early as this week.

Fury made his preference clear in a post on Instagram, sharing a photo of himself at the stadium with a Welsh dragon in the background.

“If this fight happens in Wales, this will be amazing. All my mother’s people are from Wales. It will be like a homecoming,” he wrote.

Joshua’s contract for the fight stipulates that it must be held in the United Kingdom, ruling out Madison Square Garden in New York and venues in the Middle East.

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With Wembley Stadium lacking a roof, Cardiff has emerged as the clear frontrunner. The Principality Stadium previously hosted Joshua’s win over Carlos Takam in 2017, a bout that drew 78,000 fans.

Should the fight be confirmed, Cardiff faces one of its busiest weekends in years, with the city already filling up with Christmas shoppers. Hotel rooms in the capital have grown scarce, with the Hilton, Parkgate and Marriott all sold out for the night of the proposed fight.

Planning could still be complicated by the stadium’s 1am curfew, with organisers keen to satisfy American television audiences.

Cardiff Council said no application had yet been received to extend the curfew, adding that any such request would need 28 days to be processed.

Fury’s stance marks a shift from earlier talks, when Cardiff’s Principality Stadium first emerged as an option to salvage the fight after plans for a Wembley bout stalled over broadcast demands.

Netflix is understood to want a fight time that maximises interest from its American audience, which would require action to begin in the early hours of the morning in the United Kingdom, timing that Wembley’s curfew rules could not accommodate.