Eddie Hearn confirms Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury WILL happen in 2021 – but warns UK fans at least one fight could happen in Saudi Arabia or even China
Eddie Hearn has warned UK fans to expect at least one of the proposed bouts between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury to take place abroad.
The prospect of seeing two British world heavyweight champions collide in an undisputed world title fight is tantalisingly close for supporters.
Fury claimed the WBC and Ring Magazine belts from Deontay Wilder in their Las Vegas rematch in February this year to dangle the proverbial carrot in front of his domestic rival.
Joshua, who holds the IBF, WBA and WBO versions of the world title, must first get past mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev on December 12 to ensure all the belts will be on the line.
Despite rival promoter Frank Warren championing the fight taking place in Manchester or London at a football stadium, Hearn has admitted the financial lure of taking the fight to the Middle East or even China is likely to prove too strong for the British pair.
Hearn told Sportsday on talkSPORT 2: “It’s very easy for people to sit down and say, ‘this fight MUST happen in the UK!’
“This is a sport where both fighters put their health and their faculty and sometimes their life on the line.
“You can’t expect fighters in a fight of this magnitude, the ultimate fight of their career, to take half the money to do it in the UK.
“We’re in a situation at the moment in this country and, at the moment rightfully so, where the government doesn’t invest money to bring major sporting events to this country.
“They’ve got enough on their plate; they certainly shouldn’t be looking at that at the moment. Yet many countries, and we saw the [Andy] Ruiz fight in Saudi Arabia, have funds in place to bring major sporting events to their countries.
“So a lot of those countries are going to be making major financial plays to stage this fight.
“Ultimately, it won’t be me who decides. It will be the fighters who decide.”
Joshua was stopped emphatically 18 months ago by Ruiz to sacrifice his world titles on his American debut at Madison Square Garden, before reclaiming them before Christmas at the ‘Clash on the Dunes’ in Saudi Arabia.
It is reported the Olympic Gold medallist claimed a whopping £66million as the challenger for that fight - the biggest purse of his lucrative career.
And, despite Hearn insisting both men would relish the chance to fight in front of their home fans, money is likely to dictate the location of at least one of the bouts.
He added: “If you go to a fighter and their teams and, pulling numbers out of the sky, say you have £50m to fight in the UK or you have £100m to do the fight in the Middle East, it’s a very short conversation.
“Because they understand the risks involved. If you ask Tyson and you ask AJ, ‘where do you want this fight to happen?’ - blimey, obviously in the UK!
“Two British heavyweight world champions and we will do everything we can to make the fight here, by the way.
“But, we can’t ignore the other offers. I would certainly like to see one of the two fights, because it will be two fights, in the UK.
“And I do believe that is what the fighters want as well. But even in the current environment, there has been a number of sizeable approaches from around the world to stage this fight – the biggest fight in boxing.”
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