Barry Hearn has delivered his verdict on whether Anthony Joshua's proposed fight against Tyson Fury could collapse, with both boxers in action this weekend09:19, 21 Jul 2026Updated 09:20, 21 Jul 2026Anthony Joshua's proposed heavyweight fight against Tyson Fury is still expected to GO AHEAD later this year, according to Matchroom's Barry Hearn. Joshua and Fury are due to clash in an all-British boxing showdown in November, providing both win their warm-up bouts this weekend.‌Fury, 37, is scheduled to go up against Mariusz Wach on Friday, with Joshua, 36, facing Kristian Penga the following evening. Should both win - which is backed as short as 1/16 with the bookmakers – a mammoth multi-million pound fight is poised to take place, though a final venue is yet to be decided.‌Although there is still an outside chance of the fight collapsing, boxing promoter Hearn is confident that both Joshua and Fury will come through their warm-up bouts unscathed. This is despite Prenga's team claiming that Joshua has made a "big mistake" by fighting the Albanian in Saudi Arabia.‌When asked if the fight might not go ahead, Hearn, 78, told Mirror Sport: "No. I don't know if you've ever been hit on the chin by someone who weighs 17st... I haven't, and I don't want to. There's always the potential of a banana skin in boxing. History tells us that. I think it's unlikely in both cases, of course."But Anthony Joshua, to his credit, he's not thinking beyond Saturday. He knows what's at stake here, a fight that he's wanted for 10 years has been signed for. All they have to do is deliver their respective victories, I believe that is a huge odds-on favourite."Kristian Prenga's team, of course, whilst they're entitled to their opinion, have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. They've never been in with an animal like Anthony Joshua, especially in his [Oleksandr] Usyk training regime that he's now adopted and embraced and realised that he thought he was doing the best training that he could ever do, and now he's seen another level, which has inspired him, which I like.‌"I like people that are ready to embrace something new. So no, if there's always a banana skin, it's unlikely, and I can't wait for Tyson Fury against Anthony Joshua. It's been a long time in the making."While the long-awaited mega-fight has been discussed for years, Joshua and Fury have never fought in a professional boxing match before. Should the clash go ahead as planned, it's poised to be one of the biggest boxing has EVER seen, according to Hearn, alongside the 'Rumble in the Jungle' and 'Thriller in Manila' where both were won by the legendary late Muhammed Ali.‌Hearn added: "Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua would be... I'm trying to think what would be bigger. You're at Muhammad Ali, the Rumble in the Jungle. You're at the thriller in Manila with Frazier and Ali. You're at that level, that sort of marketplace. It's creme de la creme, but in today's world, it's on Netflix, the Tyson Fury fight."It's just a massive global event. I mean, the big global events get bigger and bigger. We've just seen the World Cup possibly. Forget Argentina because they weren't my favourite team there. But there's a massive, massive commercial enterprise beyond their normal imagination, and Tyson Fury against Anthony Joshua is exactly the same."Article continues belowWatford-born Joshua, who last fought against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in December 2025, has an imperious record of 29 wins and four losses across his professional. Meanwhile, Fury's most recent fight was against Arslanbek Makhmudov in April 2026 and has lost just ONCE across his 38 professional bouts.Both Joshua and Fury as seen as two of Britain's greatest-ever heavyweight fighters, with both former world champions, making November's proposed fight a must-not-miss should it go ahead as scheduled.