Turki Alalshikh Says Dua Lipa Will Not Perform at Fury-Joshua
Turki Alalshikh said Dua Lipa will not perform at Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua, then offered his own reasons for the refusal.
The comments came Wednesday at the London launch for the December 11 heavyweight fight at Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Alalshikh was explaining why the bout is not at Wembley when he turned to the singer he had wanted on the show.
“I will be honest today,” he said. “I know from the beginning that London will not give me the stadium until two a.m.”
That timing issue is the practical piece. Netflix wants a late UK bell for a U.S. audience. Alalshikh said London would not keep Wembley open that late, which helped push the fight to Cardiff. He then added the music request that has followed this event since spring.
“And I know Dua Lipa not, will not performs in the stadium because she doesn’t like boxing,” he said, “and maybe she doesn’t like me also.”
He went further.
“No, I think she have something with the Arab and you know, it is my blood,” Alalshikh said. “I cannot change it.”
Those last lines are his interpretation. They are not a statement from Lipa. BBC Sport reported in May that she was approached and declined, and that she was not expected to appear. That report did not give a public reason from the singer. She has not issued a new comment matching Alalshikh’s claim.
The gap matters. In 2018 Lipa said she boxed for fitness and enjoyed watching the sport. Alalshikh’s version on Wednesday treated her absence as a dislike of boxing and of him. One of those things can be true without the other. Neither has been confirmed by her.
The performance talk is not new. Sky Sports and The Telegraph reported in April that Alalshikh wanted Lipa on the card and that some around the deal treated her involvement as a condition. Organizers later said the fight would proceed without her and that they would look for another high-profile British act. Liam Gallagher had performed before Joshua’s 2024 night against Daniel Dubois at Wembley. That template is what Alalshikh was chasing again.
Cardiff still holds the date. Fury and Joshua meet on December 11 for the vacant WBA Super heavyweight title, streaming globally on Netflix. Tickets go on sale October 9. The singer Alalshikh wanted will not be part of the walkout package unless something changes that has not been announced.
What he put on the microphone was a mix of logistics and grievance. The stadium clock is a documented problem. The idea that Lipa refused because of Arabs is a charge he made in public without evidence from her. It now sits beside the fight he is promoting, whether that helps the buildup or not.
The next test is the card itself. Fury and Joshua still have to sell a British heavyweight fight that no longer has Wembley or the pop star Alalshikh kept naming. December 11 in Cardiff is the date that survived both arguments.
