Eddie Hearn believes that late May 2021 would be the best time to hold a fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
Hearn hopes to finalize the details for the fight, with a rematch fight also expected to be agreed, soon after his client’s bout with Kubrat Pulev on December 12.
Both fighters have reportedly agreed to split the proceeds of any events equally, though there are obstacles in the way before any deal is completed.
WBC titleholder Fury must first settle his contract dispute with Deontay Wilder. The Bronze Bomber believes he is still entitled to his trilogy rematch despite Fury’s claim he was ‘walking away’ from any deal. That disagreement has now reached the arbitration stage, and if a rematch is finally enforced then it may delay Fury vs Joshua.
Another matter to settle is where the fight will be staged. Wembley Stadium is under consideration as a venue in Britain, but the Middle East and China have been suggested due to the ability of governments to pay up for the privilege of hosting the event.
Hearn believes that Fury will not want to delay his return to the ring, having last fought in February this year.
“I don’t think Tyson Fury wants to wait too long, he wanted to fight in December and then still wanted to fight in January or February,” Hearn said.
“That won’t happen if we get an agreement in place to fight AJ, I believe he will go straight into it.
"For us, the ideal time will be the end of May, but it all depends on where we go, when suits anybody who is making a bid for that fight or whether we do it in the UK. In the UK we have total control.
“We are not reliant on someone saying ‘this date is the best’. We decide the date, we decide the venue and we go on sale when we want, but if someone is paying a considerable site fee, we will have to adjust to the dates that they want. If it is not a date that suits both fighters I don’t think they will do it.”
Hearn said that no venue has been decided upon, but the final decision rests with Fury and Joshua.
“Ultimately, we’ll discuss with both management teams of those fighters the opportunities that are out there in terms of site fees, in terms of money in the pot and ultimately the fighters will decide where that fight will be held,” Hearn said.
“I don’t think you can just put it on Tyson and say ‘well, we need to get as much money as possible’ for him to accept the fight, but I do think AJ has consistently earned a lot of money over the last four years and will he care less about the total number in the pot than Tyson Fury? Probably.
“But still he’s not going to do it for half the money because it sounds nice. His team are going to make the right decision for his career.
“One thing for sure, if you ask both fighters, both promotional companies where they’d prefer that fight to take place, everybody would say London, everyone. So. if there’s a way to do it then great.”
One way to ensure a British fight would be for both fighters to lower their purse expectations, Hearn thought.
“If they both say that, we do it in a heartbeat,” he claimed.
“I just want to be honest with you. It’s not how it works in sport and especially not in the fight game. And by the way, it shouldn’t. You can’t have one argument, everyone says ‘Daniel Dubois quit, he’s got no heart’ and the other argument is ‘well, actually he could have lost his eyesight in there.’ You’re basically saying this fighter should go in and put his health on the line without getting the maximum reward financially for that risk.
“So, if it’s close, if it’s marginal all day long do it in the UK. But half the money shouldn’t even be considered. That’s not me saying it, and it won’t be my decision. But I won’t be advising a fighter and I don’t think any management company should be advising a fighter to take half the money to do the fight somewhere else.
“One of those fights, in my opinion, must take place in the UK. I’m a strong believer in that. But particularly the first fight, both fighters, both teams, they’ll be saying to me, ‘Show us how this fight works, show us the finances and I’ll present every option to them.’”