Eddie Hearn has responded to Tyson Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren, who was angry over the confirmation of a deal between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
Warren complained that Hearn had let slip that the deal was signed for the fight during an interview with ESPN, believing that the news should have come from a joint announcement.
However, speaking to IFL TV, Hearn explained that he was simply confirming a detail when asked, and had Fury’s camp's blessing.
"Yesterday's interview, not announcement, interview with ESPN was, we didn't want to make a big formal announcement and a fuss. But I wanted to let everyone know. I spoke to Fury's team and they were happy to convey to everybody that everybody had signed because it's good news," Hearn said.
"It's called momentum, it's excitement. There are still hurdles to overcome. We've still got to go out and decide where this is going to take place but we are moving in the right direction in terms of dates. It's momentum, it's good news.
“You guys have been waiting for good news and we've kept saying 'two weeks, two weeks' but when you get a fight as big as this, with the two fighters and all the teams putting pen to paper, let's celebrate it and let's move forward and get this done. That's what we intend to do.
"I think Frank said 'it was agreed we would do announcements' - there wasn't an announcement, I confirmed with Fury's team and they were happy for that to be mentioned. So that's what happened. It wasn't a case of me tweeting 'It’s on!', it was just 'I've heard you've all signed now, is that correct?' and, 'yes we have signed we're now moving forward to confirm the date and the venue'.
“And I think we should celebrate it. Myself, Anthony, 258 Management have worked really hard to get this done. So we have still got work to do but how good is it that everybody has put pen to paper? Nobody can be accused of not trying to get this done from our side or their side. Now we've got to go and finish the job."
Hearn also told DAZN’s Ak & Barak Show that he regarded the fight as the biggest in boxing.