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Promoter, Eddie Hearn has explained why Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury, billed as Britain’s biggest boxing match, may end up being staged abroad, with Saudi Arabia and the United States both in contention despite a contract clause specifying the UK.
The bout is targeted for November, provided both men win their warm-up fights: Joshua against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, and Fury against Mariusz Wach on August 1.
Hearn, who promotes Joshua for Matchroom Boxing, said the location will ultimately be decided by Saudi boxing chief Turki Al-Sheikh, who is bankrolling the fight.
“There was never any doubt this fight was in the UK until there were some approaches from America in terms of the revenue that could be achieved over there,” Mirror reported him as saying.
“When you sign a contract, you expect it to be honoured and followed but we’ve never done a deal with Turki where he hasn’t done that.
“I don’t think he’s trying to pull a fast one; he’s paying a lot of money for the fight, and he wants to make it as big a success for every stakeholder involved. If that means moving it to somewhere else, that’s a conversation we’ll have to have but we all hope, and we’d like to insist, that it’s in the UK.”
Hearn confirmed Watford-born Joshua’s contract “specifically states the fight must take place in the UK” and that the former world heavyweight champion was “quite insistent” on that point.
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Fury’s deal is also reported to contain a UK preference.
According to Mirror, impatient Fury, 37, is ready to walk away from the fight unless a date and venue were determined soon.
“I’m not banking on any fight happening or not happening I’m a fighter and I’ve never been able to stay busy; this is my second fight in two years. This year is the year of me staying busy and whatever happens I’m going to do that. Who knows, I might even have 10 fights this year,” he said.
Hearn told BoxingScene, “The fight will take place wherever Turki chooses for the fight to take place.
“He’s the one covering the bill. So it’s up to him.”
He added that if Al-Sheikh presents a case to move the fight, “we’ll have those conversations”.
“If it was the old days and the contract said the fight was in the UK, we wouldn’t even be in a discussion. It would just be, ‘Tough s***, mate, that’s what we signed, you’re doing it.’ But we also understand the relationship, and the fact there’s a lot of money in the fight.”
