The camps of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are discussing a potential blockbuster heavyweight unification fight, ESPN's Mark Kriegel reported Thursday.
There are a few complications, however; Fury is set to fight Deontay Wilder for a third time later this year, though the timeline is tentative because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For Fury to agree to a fight, he'd need to receive a large enough sum to pay Wilder to waive his contractual right to a rematch. Wilder recently underwent surgery after injuring his biceps during a seventh-round knockout loss to Fury last February.
"As far as we're concerned, the next fight (for Wilder) is the third fight [with Fury]," Shelly Finkel, Wilder's adviser, told ESPN.
Joshua was scheduled for a fight on June 20 with Kubrat Pulev, though that was postponed because of the coronavirus crisis.
"We're talking to MTK (Fury's adviser) about where that fight would take place," Joshua's promoter, Matchroom Boxing's Eddie Hearn, told ESPN. "At the moment, the main focus for everybody (is) the contractual situations."
The other issues to address include the "when" and "where" of the fight. With Fury and Joshua both being British, many fans have fantasized about the two duking it out in one of England's great stadiums. But that might not be able to happen anytime soon, again because of COVID-19.
"Let's see what type of offers we get from the Middle East," said Top Rank's Bob Arum. "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."
Arum also told Sky Sports on Thursday that the scheduled third matchup between Fury and Wilder was in jeopardy due to the coronavirus pandemic. Government restrictions have shut down all but the most essential travel between the UK and the United States to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
"With or without audiences, we can't do [the third Fury-Wilder fight] while Fury can't get back into the United States due to the travel ban," Arum said. "Wilder couldn't get into England either."
Fury doesn't seem to worried about the logistics of a fight vs. Joshua, as long as he gets his money.
"I'll fight in Timbuktu if the money's right," he said. "I have a bag, and I will travel."