Joshua-Fury Tickets Sell Out in an Hour as Dana White Praises Eddie Hearn

Joshua-Fury Tickets Vanish in Under an Hour, and Dana White Softens on Hearn

Eighty thousand tickets for Anthony Joshua's fight against Tyson Fury sold out in less than an hour after going on sale last Friday at noon London time, with more than half a million fans left stuck in the queue. The demand vindicated a clause in Joshua's contract that let him insist the bout stay in the United Kingdom rather than move to Madison Square Garden in New York, which is what Dana White and TKO had wanted.

White, who has spent weeks blasting Eddie Hearn over the U.K. location, told The Sun he does not disagree with keeping the event there and credited Hearn and Joshua for fighting hard to make it happen. A second clause in Joshua's contract bars TKO Group Holdings from being part of the fight, and White has been encouraging Hearn to sue him if he wants to enforce it, so the larger dispute between the sides remains unresolved even as the money smooths things over.

Johnny Nelson, the longest-reigning cruiserweight champion ever, says he loves the idea of Jai Opetaia facing Deontay Wilder on the Joshua-Fury undercard and thinks it is a great, smart fight for Opetaia.

Dubois and Wardley Run It Back at the O2 Arena

Daniel Dubois, 23-3, defends his WBO heavyweight title against Fabio Wardley, 20-1-1, in a rematch Saturday at London's O2 Arena, live on DAZN pay-per-view with the main card starting at 7 p.m. London time. In May, Dubois survived two early knockdowns to stop Wardley in the 11th round, a result that ended Wardley's unbeaten record.

Wardley used an immediate rematch clause to secure the second shot, giving him a direct path back at the title he lost in that first fight.

Bivol Defends Undisputed Reign Against Callum Smith in Russia

Dmitry Bivol, 25-1, puts his WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight titles on the line against mandatory challenger Callum Smith, 31-2, on December 12 at UMMC Arena in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Bivol became undisputed champion by beating Artur Beterbiev in their February 2025 rematch.

Smith enters after almost 22 months out of the ring. He was supposed to face David Morrell Jr. last April but withdrew with an injury. He has lost once each to Beterbiev and Canelo Alvarez, meaning Bivol is chasing a piece of history as only the third man to beat him.

Fundora Defends Super Welterweight Title Against Unbeaten Hadribeaj

Sebastian Fundora, 24-1-1, defends the WBC super welterweight title against undefeated challenger Ermal Hadribeaj, 23-0-1, in Las Vegas, airing on TNT and DAZN. Fundora is coming off a sixth-round stoppage of Keith Thurman and has his eye on a potential undisputed fight with Jaron Ennis next year, but he has to get past Hadribeaj first.

Hadribeaj earned his shot with a decision win over Bakary Samake in May. Fundora is a heavy betting favorite at minus-1450 according to Uncrowned, with Hadribeaj at plus-750. The same card features WBA featherweight champion Brandon Figueroa defending against former champion Tomoki Kameda.

Lauren Price Defends Unified Welterweight Titles at Home in Cardiff

Lauren Price defends her unified world welterweight titles against Czech contender Michaela Kotaskova on November 20 at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff, airing live and free-to-air on the BBC.

Kotaskova has lost just once in 15 fights, a points loss to Chantelle Cameron.

WBA Grants Jimenez a Special Permit to Face Akui Ahead of Mandatory

The WBA granted super flyweight champion David Jimenez of Costa Rica a special permit to defend his title against Japan's Seigo Yuri Akui on November 29 in Tokyo, even though mandatory challenger John Ramirez's side, Golden Boy, objected to the move.

Whoever wins must face Ramirez within 120 days, draw or no draw, and Ramirez has been authorized to take a non-title bout while he waits.

Tszyu Moves Up to Challenge Lara for WBA Middleweight Title

Erislandy Lara, 32-3-3, will defend his WBA middleweight title against Tim Tszyu in Australia. Lara has held the belt since 2021 across four defenses, while Tszyu enters off a unanimous decision over Errol Spence Jr. in July that lifted his record to 28-3.

The jump is four pounds above the WBO super welterweight title Tszyu previously held. Tszyu called Lara out from the ring after beating Spence, and promoter George Rose said Tszyu wanted Lara and called for him by name.

Haney-Stevenson Agree on Weight, but Money Holds Up the Fight

Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson have publicly agreed to a 145-pound catchweight for their proposed fight, but Ring Magazine's Mike Coppinger reports the holdup now is money. A November 28 date in Atlanta has been mentioned but appears extremely unlikely at this point.

New WBA lightweight champion Floyd Schofield, who has sparred both men, told Sean Zittel he favors Haney, pointing to Haney's ability to put Brian Norman Jr. on the floor.

Canelo Confirms Riyadh Fight With Mbilli Despite Deadly Airport Strikes

Saudi adviser Turki Alalshikh says Canelo Alvarez has confirmed he is still fighting Christian Mbilli for the WBC super middleweight title on October 31 in Riyadh, despite recent fatal strikes on the city’s airport.

Alalshikh posted on X that Canelo reached out and told him he will still fight in Riyadh this October, “no matter what happens,” adding that “he fears nothing.”

MVP Hires Joe Setley to Lead Digital Media Push

Most Valuable Promotions named Joe Setley senior vice president of products and digital media, reporting to president Lenny Daniels. He arrives from Top Rank, where the social audience grew from 5 million to nearly 30 million followers under him, and before that spent nearly four years at UFC.

CEO Nakisa Bidarian framed the hire around MVP's roster of nearly 400 athletes across boxing and MMA since its merger with PFL, and around leaning on Jake Paul's pull with younger audiences as the company builds a digital ecosystem around its fighters.