Dua Lipa boxing comments were not the obvious talking point expected from the launch of Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury’s heavyweight showdown. Yet promoter Turki Alalshikh managed to pull the pop star into proceedings, prompting confusion and criticism from her fans.
The two British fighters met face-to-face in London on Wednesday after years of failed negotiations. Their long-awaited bout, billed as the Battle of Britain, is now scheduled for December 11 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
While explaining why the fight would take place in Wales rather than London, Alalshikh abruptly raised Lipa’s decision not to perform at the event.
“I will be honest today, I know that London wouldn’t give me the stadium until 2am,” he told the audience.
He then said the 31-year-old singer would not appear because “she doesn’t like boxing”, before adding that “maybe she doesn’t like me”. So far, merely an awkward discussion about a declined booking. It did not stop there.
What did Turki Alalshikh say about Dua Lipa?
After someone in the audience appeared to respond, Alalshikh suggested Lipa’s refusal might be connected to his background.
“No, I think she has something with the Arab,” he said. “And, you know, it is my blood. I cannot change it.”
There is no evidence that Lipa declined because of Alalshikh’s ethnicity. She has not publicly explained why she turned down the performance offer, and her representatives have been contacted for comment.
The unsupported suggestion quickly became the most controversial moment of a press conference ostensibly arranged to promote two large men punching each other.
Viewers questioned why Lipa had been mentioned at all. One fan asked on X: “Somebody plz explain why Dua Lipa is getting brought up at a boxing match.”
Another criticised Alalshikh for blaming “a whole ethnicity” because the singer had declined the invitation, adding that she probably simply did not care about the event. Other reactions described the exchange as “embarrassing” and “disgusting”.
“She’s honestly such an icon, he’s embarrassing himself,” one viewer wrote. Another said Lipa had been right not to attend after hearing the speech.
Why was Dua Lipa linked to the fight?
Lipa’s possible appearance has been a surprisingly persistent part of the Joshua-Fury negotiations. Earlier in 2026, reports said Alalshikh was particularly keen for the Levitating singer to perform alongside the contest.
At one stage, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority even suggested that her participation was necessary if the fight were to take place in London. It was unclear whether that was a serious condition or promotional pressure delivered with all the subtlety of a weigh-in.
BBC Sport later reported that Lipa had been approached and had declined. She is therefore not expected to perform when Joshua and Fury finally meet after roughly a decade of rivalry, postponements and agreements that failed to become actual fights.
Major musical performances have become common at boxing events backed by Alalshikh. Liam Gallagher played at Wembley Stadium before Joshua’s 2024 world-title bout against Daniel Dubois. Eminem also performed ahead of Terence Crawford’s fight with Israil Madrimov that year.
Lipa would have continued that pattern, but saying no to a booking is generally allowed without prompting public speculation about someone’s views on an entire ethnic group.
When will Anthony Joshua fight Tyson Fury?
Joshua and Fury are due to fight at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on December 11, staging one of the largest all-British heavyweight contests in recent years.
Both men enter the bout after significant recent appearances. Joshua has not fought since defeating Jake Paul in December, when he broke the YouTuber-turned-boxer’s jaw in the sixth round.
Fury returned from retirement earlier in 2026 and comfortably outpointed Arslanbek Makhmudov in April. His comeback revived the possibility of a Joshua fight after repeated attempts to arrange it had collapsed.
Despite the rivalry and the long negotiations, the fighters were notably cordial at the launch. Fury praised Joshua’s career, and the pair joked together on stage rather than producing the expected shouting match.
That left the event’s main controversy to someone who was not present, is not fighting and had already declined the invitation. Boxing promotion remains capable of finding drama even when the boxers decline to provide it.
