Eddie Hearn suggests that “the bigger money could come next year”
Preliminary talks for a showdown between heavyweight champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua to decide an undisputed champion have been taking place, with Eddie Hearn confirming that “a number of approaches” from different territories are in consideration.
However, a great deal remains to be done to make the fight happen for the two fighters. Boxing can have a tortured route at times, and this one may be influenced by the extraordinary circumstances.
Certainly, by the end of July this year, both fighters had been scheduled to fight Deontay Wilder and Kubrat Pulev, respectively, in Las Vegas and London. But the coronavirus pandemic may have shifted thinking in the camps.
Both British heavyweights – Fury the WBC champion and Joshua the IBF, WBA and WBO champion – have assigned dates with other opponents that have been delayed, and although the lockdown has prompted the two fighters to publicly state over the last few weeks that they would consider fighting the other next, negotiations are complex.
No matter that it requires the annulment of other contracts, the coming together of the biggest promotional groups, the most powerful sports television broadcasters and likely irresistible financial package from the coffers of the Saudis, there is still no sign of a lifting of travel bans or return to crowds at events.
Until that happens, there is unlikely to be a concrete deal, unless the fight were to take place behind locked doors. ESPN have reported that if it were to take place late this year, Fury’s Dubai-based adviser, MTK, which is based in Dubai, is negotiating for the Lancastrian on behalf of his co-promoters, Top Rank and Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions.
MTK is awaiting an offer from promoters in Saudi Arabia, with the offer to Fury needing to be large enough for them to pay Deontay Wilder ‘step-aside’ money to give up his contractual right to an immediate trilogy fight with Fury.
As for the negotiating players, Fury co-promoter Arum said: “Let’s see what type of offers we get from the Middle East because there is a real frenzy with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, with the Emirates, to do events, to open up these countries in the winter and into next year. It would be foolish for us to not consider those types of offers.”
Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, added: “We’re talking to MTK about where that fight would take place. At the moment, the main focus for everybody is the contractual situations.”
“The conversations between myself and MTK are that we’ve had an approach,” Hearn said. “We’ve had a number of approaches from territories to stage that fight.
“So the only discussions at the moment are where this fight takes place – we don’t even know when this fight could take place… we’re certainly open to have discussions about the possibility of this happening this year or in the next fight.
“There’s more chance at the moment that the bigger money could come next year because we don’t even know if we can do live crowds in November, December.”
However, Shelly Finkel, Wilder’s co-manager, said: “As far as we’re concerned, the next fight for Wilder is the third fight with Fury.”
As for Fury, cooped up at home, the thought thrills him. “I’ll fight in Timbuktu if the money’s right. I have a bag, and I will travel.”