Joshua vs Fury £200m megafight days away from being made public
A deal confirming the £200million battle of Britain between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury is just days away.
That’s according to promoter Eddie Hearn, who also hopes to have a date and venue for the undisputed heavyweight title fight finalised within the next month.
AJ and Fury are slated to meet in the first of two bouts this June or July – most likely in the Middle East – and Hearn said on Friday: ‘We are on the verge of giving everyone some great news.
‘I know I have said that two and five weeks ago but we are days away.’
He added: ‘Everyone has worked really hard on this deal and it’s taken a month longer than we would have liked to get everybody to sign. And when everybody signs, we know we have to go out and complete the site deal but it’s quite a big statement from both guys to put pen to paper and for all the teams to say: we’re moving forward, let’s go.’
👑 @Tyson_Fury hanging around backstage.
📺 The action gets underway in just over 20 minutes live on @ESPN+ and @IFLTV.
FREE LIVE STREAM ➡️ https://t.co/Vcu2GNAyhT#MTKFightNight #CrockerIlbay #CullyKotochigov #Boxing pic.twitter.com/4tugHFh4PP
— MTK Global Boxing 🌍 (@MTKGlobal) March 12, 2021
It comes after Fury claimed he is ‘on holiday’ and is drinking ‘up to 12 pints a day’, with the fight ‘nowhere near’ finalised.
Speaking to iFLTV, Fury said: ‘I’ve stopped training now, I’m on holiday, I‘m doing anywhere between, eight, 10, 12 pints of lager a day at the minute. Not eating though so I’m getting my calories through alcohol.
‘There’s nothing to do, is there? I’ve done training, training, training with no further process. It’s one of those things, at the minute I’m just chilling out, being a man of leisure in lockdown.’
It has already been a year since @Tyson_Fury did thishttps://t.co/v92BWZ31bs
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) February 22, 2021
The Gypsy King also teased the possibility of pursuing a third fight with Deontay Wilder instead.
‘Last week he said he would never ever fight Deontay Wilder again and yesterday he said he might fight him next so we are just focused on what we are doing,’ Hearn said.
Both Hearn and Bob Arum, Fury’s co-promoter, insist terms have been agreed for the first AJ fight. Now the wait for all parties to sign the contract is ‘virtually complete’ too.
When asked if either boxer has yet added their signature, Hearn said: ‘I’ll let the fighters announce that but all I can tell you is: stand by.
He added: ‘What you are going to get in the next few days is: the teams have now signed and now we are progressing with the venue.’
The two camps had planned to announce a deal before beginning talks with possible venues. But with the summer hurtling into view, those negotiations were brought forward, with Saudi Arabia among the front runners.
Unruly 🩸 pic.twitter.com/eA6McGABt6
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyjoshua) March 8, 2021
‘We started doing that two weeks ago, so we’re already quite advanced,’ Hearn said.
Sites in Asia and America are also in contention as well as more ‘obscure’ options.
‘There are only six or seven who we have whittled it down to, who want to hold the fight and will continue talks with,’ Hearn said.
‘The only way we could possibly do it in the UK is if we are guaranteed if we can get 100,000 people in Wembley and that seems almost impossible… America has opened up as an option, we are in talks with Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys about having 70,000 for Canelo (Alvarez) vs Billy Joe Saunders (in May).
‘And I believe Las Vegas is close to opening up to 50 per cent capacity, could they have 100 per cent by July? If they could they could be a player and they will need something monstrous to bring people back.’
Hearn said the final stage of talks on where the bout will land begin next week. Both teams hope to strike a deal within the next 28 days.
Then it’s down to the fighters.
‘I want to see that cheekiness back from Tyson Fury,’ Hearn added. ‘Everyone has put a lot of work into this deal and he is on board… he’s not going to find a bigger fight in boxing, he’s never going to make this kind of money again and ultimately it’s up to him as an individual.
SPARE NO ONE🩸 pic.twitter.com/CAT8KlUIFn
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyjoshua) March 10, 2021
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‘For AJ, of course we have to maximise his revenue but AJ just wants to knock Tyson Fury out. He just wants to be undisputed. He’s so driven and… (in recent interviews) I didn’t feel the energy from Tyson Fury.
‘I want him to get his mojo back and start concentrating on what is a life-changing moment for our sport – the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world between two Brits.’