Anthony Joshua took his pre-fight dispute with Tyson Fury into the public domain on 22 September 2026 by sharing on social media an email from the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association querying when Fury intends to enrol for drug testing ahead of their scheduled December heavyweight clash at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
The correspondence, which Joshua posted without public comment from Fury, showed VADA’s president asking when Fury would be enrolling for the upcoming fight and noting that whereabouts forms are required before either fighter can be officially registered for the December matchup. The move came within days of promoter Eddie Hearn bringing the underlying contract dispute into the open.
Contracts that did not match
Hearn had addressed the drug-testing situation publicly on 20 September, speaking after Matchroom’s Pat Brown versus John Hedges card. According to reports in Boxing News and BoxingScene, he said the drug-testing protocol had not been followed in full, while being careful to distinguish between contractual obligation and personal blame. Joshua’s contract, he explained, had been signed more than three months earlier and stipulated that both fighters must begin testing at that point. Joshua duly enrolled; Fury did not. Hearn’s explanation, however, was that Fury may not have been under the same contractual obligation, since what appeared in Joshua’s contract was not necessarily mirrored in Fury’s.
Hearn was reported as saying he did not think Fury was obligated to enrol under his own version of the agreement, even though Joshua’s contract stated that he was. He described it as one of several inconsistencies he had chosen to absorb during negotiations in order to keep the bout on track, with the location clause — requiring the fight to take place on British soil — being the one issue on which Joshua’s team declined to move.
A source close to the situation told BoxingScene that Fury was expected to begin drug testing once the fight was formally announced, an announcement said to be anticipated within days of 22 September. The same source noted it would be unusual for fighters to begin testing before an official announcement.
A pattern of divergent contracts
Hearn indicated to Boxing News that this kind of contractual misalignment was not unique to the Joshua-Fury deal. He said comparable problems had emerged when he worked with Conor Benn on his two fights with Chris Eubank Jnr in 2025, pointing to differences over details such as dressing-room allocation, walk-out order, and hydration and fining procedures. He attributed the recurring difficulty to parties rushing to complete deals rather than ensuring every term was properly agreed, arguing the consequences tend to surface later in the process.
The location dispute had itself only recently been resolved. Joshua’s contract contained a clause requiring the fight to take place in the UK, while Fury’s carried no such restriction. Event organisers Sela and broadcaster Netflix had been pushing for the bout to be staged in New York, with Fury also initially favouring a US setting. Fury’s promoter Frank Warren told iFL TV that Fury’s contract would have permitted a fight elsewhere and that Fury had made the fight happen by agreeing to come to the UK. Hearn confirmed on 21 September that Joshua had personally driven the decision to hold firm on the British venue, saying Joshua had not been willing to accept additional financial inducements to change the location. Hearn added that the 11 December date was now locked in and that discussions with Netflix were ongoing.
Start time concerns
Hearn also moved on 21 September to address concerns among British fans about the broadcast timing. With the fight being shown on Netflix and requiring a viable US audience window, speculation had grown that the main event could begin as late as 3am BST. Hearn said that level of delay was not something fans should expect, though he acknowledged that a slightly later start time than usual had been under discussion with the Principality Stadium and Cardiff council, and that resolving those details had contributed to the delay in making a formal announcement.
Davison’s return brings specific knowledge
Alongside the testing row, Joshua is reported to be bringing trainer Ben Davison into his corner for the fight, according to Independent Boxing. Davison coached Fury during his 2018 comeback, overseeing wins over Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta and a draw with Deontay Wilder that most observers at the time believed Fury had won outright. Fury subsequently defeated Tom Schwarz and Otto Wallin under Davison before the pair parted company ahead of Fury’s 2020 rematch with Wilder.
Hearn told Independent Boxing on 21 September that Davison had maintained regular strategic contact with Joshua even during periods when he was not his lead trainer. Hearn described him as one of the best trainers in the world and confirmed he would be involved in the camp and the preparation process, while noting that Joshua’s final decision on his training base had not yet been made public. Davison had previously guided Joshua to stoppages of Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou in December 2023 and March 2024 respectively, before Joshua was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
The significance of the Davison appointment goes beyond symbolism. A trainer who worked extensively with Fury during that comeback period would carry detailed knowledge of his patterns and responses, the kind that extended camp footage study alone is less likely to replicate. Hearn’s remarks suggested the decision was considered rather than purely provocative.
With the December date described as locked in, the outstanding question centres on when the formal announcement arrives and whether Fury’s enrolment in VADA testing follows swiftly. Joshua’s decision to post the correspondence publicly means that timeline is now under scrutiny from both fans and the wider boxing press.