Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua finally confirm date for mega-fight

Tyson Fury’s Battle of Britain against Anthony Joshua will take place on August 14, reveals Frank Warren but he insists a deal hasn’t been sealed just yet.

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn revealed on Tuesday that the fight, which had been considered across three continents, would take place in Saudi Arabia on either August 7 or August 14.

 

But Warren, Fury’s promoter in the UK, has admitted it will most likely go ahead on the latter date as to not clash with the Tokyo Olympics, which end on August 8.

While relevant parties won’t want the fight to clash with the Olympics, Joshua’s trainer Rob McCracken is also the performance director of the British boxing team that will be competing in Tokyo between July 23 and August 8.

Warren told the talkSPORT Breakfast on Wednesday: ‘It definitely won’t be on August 7 because that’s when the Olympic games are on and that’s going to be a problem for TV. Besides that, you’ve got a UFC PPV in the States and UK.

‘So if it goes on, it’ll be on August 14. I don’t think the date is the problem at all, I think everyone’s agreed that can be moved to August 14.’

The undisputed heavyweight clash appears on the brink of finally being officially announced following plenty of back-and-forth but Warren, who reaffirmed Hearn’s confirmation that Saudi Arabia will play host, admitted there are some minor details to sort out still.

He added on Wednesday: ‘What we’re all trying to do is get this over the line, but the only way we’ll get it over the line is by the fighter, Tyson, getting certain assurances.

‘If he gets them, he’ll put pen to paper, but as it is now, he’s waiting for the other side’s lawyers to confirm what he wants.

‘We want the fight, everybody wants the fight, for once Eddie Hearn and I agree that we have a common aim here.

‘But it hasn’t been signed, I don’t know why he’s saying it has been signed. There have to be assurances given and confirmation given that Tyson is happy with.’

Warren continued: ‘I really do feel there’s a way forward on this, I do feel having spoken with one of the principles there that he desperately wants to do this deal. But as I say there’s just a couple of things that need to be addressed and I’m quite sure we’ll get them addressed and get it over the line and we can get it on.’

The site fee for the fight between British heavyweight rivals Joshua and Fury in Saudi Arabia will be in the region of £107million, and Sportsmail understands the city of Jeddah is preferred.

Hearn earlier revealed on Tuesday: ‘I think it’s a very bad secret that the fight is happening in Saudi Arabia. To be honest with you, I don’t mind giving you that information. Bob Arum [Fury’s US promoter] has already done it.

‘August 7 or 14 is going to be the date. Of course you’ve got the Olympics finishing on August 7, so in terms of a global spectacle, it would make sense to go on the 14th. That’s one of the things to tick off in the next, hopefully, few days.

Hearn added: ‘We’re in a stage where people are getting frustrated. The deal is done.

‘Now we’re on the finer details of the contract, which came back last Friday. It went back last night. They are on calls now in the office about it, and I think at some point people are going to have to take a little bit of a leap of faith in this deal.

‘From our perspective and AJ’s perspective, we’re ready to go. From Tyson Fury’s perspective, they’ve got a couple of lawyers across it from their point.

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‘There’s no reason why it shouldn’t happen this week. This is kind of like the moment where you could actually turn around at this point and say, “This is dragging on too long, or I can’t be dealing with this anymore”.

‘But we have to nail this, and I’m not going to stop until I nail it, and everyone has just got to move forward collectively.

‘We’re ready to go from our side. We’re not far away from their side and it is inevitable, but at the same time, we’ve got to close the door on it.’