After recent news broke that a British heavyweight fight between Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury had finally been signed, it was a bit curious that the announcement came without a specific date or venue. In an interview with Fight Hype, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn confirms that they have actually put pen to paper for a fight against Fury and the contract itself makes it explicitly clear that the venue (and by virtue the date) will be up to the sole discretion of Turki Alalshikh.
“What we know is the
fight is signed by both fighters,” Hearn said. “I mean, Fury’s already said he signed it. We’ve now signed our end as well, so the fight is done. The location of that will be down to Turki Alalshikh. I think the one thing I’ll say about Turki Alalshikh is he’s a mad boxing fan. And he knows that that fight in the UK is historic, so I think he wants to give British fight fans something they’ll remember forever.
“However, he’s also the one paying the bill. So, really he has to look at where that fight makes sense for the business and for them as well. So wherever it is, it is. It’s not down to us to make those decisions, or AJ, or Tyson Fury. Ultimately, we signed a contract to fight wherever we’re told to fight is. Obviously everybody wants the fight to take place in the UK but we’ll see what transpires. The fight’s going to be mega and to do it in the UK is going to be really special.”
Hearn was then asked about the likelihood of it taking place around mid-November.
“I think that’s about the time frame they’re talking about,” Hearn responded. “Obviously [Joshua’s] going to fight end of July and then after that camp a few weeks off, maybe even August off, and then back into camp right at the beginning of September…”
