According to an IBA report, the promoters of WBA heavyweight champion Murat Gassiev condemn reports that Tyson Fury’s clash with Anthony Joshua on December 11th will be sanctioned for the WBA’s super heavyweight championship, a status Gassiev considers to rightfully belong to him. Gassiev’s team has lodged a formal objection to the WBA, demanding that it publicly refute the reports and take no action that would deny Gassiev his rightful status. Gassiev won and defended in the ring. Following Oleksandr Usyk’s decision to vacate his titles, Gassiev team maintains that he, as the reigning champion, should have been elevated to super champion, or at the very least given the first opportunity to fight for that status, before it was awarded to anyone else. The "promoters" of Gassiev [the IBA did not say who] consider it unacceptable that reports of this magnitude could circulate without any consultation with Gassiev and his team, and demand clarification from the WBA immediately. “If anyone should be fighting for the WBA super heavyweight title, it is Murat Gassiev, the reigning champion, not two boxers who currently hold no world title between them. Allowing the WBA’s number two and number three contenders to bypass the number one contender and the reigning champion himself would be an extraordinary and, to our knowledge, unprecedented decision. We have formally requested that the WBA confirm or deny these reports and provide the grounds for any such decision. At an absolute minimum, Murat must be given the opportunity to be heard and to fight for super champion status before that status is awarded to anyone else. Our client’s rights in this matter are fully reserved,” said John Wirt, co-promoter and legal counsel for Gassiev."
Gassiev said the decision had been made without any contact with him or his team. “Nobody asked me or my team anything before this decision. I have defended this title in the ring, not in a press release. I am ready to fight anyone – Fury, Joshua, anybody – tomorrow, next month, whenever suits. That has never been a question for me. I would not accept the situation when champion’s future is decided on paper, not in the ring,” Gassiev said.
PRIOR BOXINGTALK COVERAGE
SEPT. 25, 2026: Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua is officially happening. The British heavyweights, both former champions, will fight for the first time on Friday, Dec. 11th, live on Netflix from Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Ahead of the December showdown, Fury and Joshua will participate in a press conference on September 30th. Fury (36-2-1, 25 KOs) and Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) have both previously headlined live boxing events on Netflix. Joshua knocked out Jake Paul in December 2025, while Fury defeated Arslanbek Makhmudov by unanimous decision in April 2026. Now, the former heavyweight champions will meet in one of the biggest all-British heavyweight fights in history.
“Fury vs. Joshua is a fight years in the making between two of boxing’s biggest stars,” Gabe Spitzer, vice president of sports at Netflix, said. “It has the rivalry, the stakes and the scale to capture the attention of sports fans around the world.”
The matchup was officially confirmed by Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority and President of the Saudi Boxing Federation. “Two of the best heavyweights of this generation, finally in the ring together,” says Alalshikh. “This will be one of the biggest fights in boxing history.”
Alalshikh’s The Ring and Dana White will collaborate to promote the event. White points to the fighters’ combined records — and what a win could mean for either man’s legacy. “Together, [Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua] bring 66 wins, 52 knockouts and multiple heavyweight world titles into the ring,” White says. “On December 11th, two of the biggest heavyweights of this generation finally collide– and the winner will take a significant place in heavyweight history.”
