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The long-awaited heavyweight showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua has been contractually agreed, with the date and venue still to be finalised, according to Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn.
Hearn’s confirmation came after Fury appeared to cast doubt on the possibility of the all-British fight taking place.
Speaking to DAZN on Sunday, Hearn said both camps had signed the agreement and insisted that neither fighter could simply withdraw from the bout.
“We’ve signed the contract, we’re waiting for a date,” Hearn said.
“The fight’s signed. No-one can pull out of the fight. You can’t just pull out of a contract.”
The major issue now facing the organisers is determining where and when the contest will take place.
The fight had been widely expected to be staged in the United Kingdom in November. However, Saudi Arabian organisers Sela are reportedly pushing for the heavyweight clash to take place in the United States, with Madison Square Garden in New York among the venues being considered.
Fury and Joshua have separate agreements with Sela, while the fight is also expected to be broadcast on Netflix.
Hearn said Joshua’s camp would prefer to stage the bout in Britain but remained open to a US venue if the terms were acceptable.
“We know everybody and his dog involved in the fight wants to do the fight in America. We don’t,” the promoter said.
He added that discussions with Sela were ongoing and that the disagreement over the location should not be interpreted as a threat to the fight itself.
“We’ve told Sela and the team, ‘If you want to do it in America, these are the terms that we can move forward with. But we’d rather not please,’” Hearn said.
Fury and Joshua have long been linked with a blockbuster meeting that would bring together two of Britain’s biggest heavyweight stars.
With the contractual agreement now in place, the remaining major details are the date and location of what is expected to be one of the biggest fights in British boxing.
