Eddie Hearn has said Anthony Joshua’s team have been ‘treated like the B-side’ and have not been ‘allowed to negotiate’ fight terms for a potential clash with Tyson Fury.
An all-British heavyweight super-fight between Joshua and Fury looked to have slipped away for good when “AJ” was outpointed by Oleksandr Usyk for the second fight in a row in August.
But Fury this month offered Joshua a shot at his WBC heavyweight title, and talks have advanced quickly in recent weeks, with AJ accepting a 60-40 purse split in his compatriot’s favour and 50-50 in a potential rematch.
“Obviously with the Queen’s passing, we haven’t really spoke too much about it at the weekend,” Eddie Hearn said in a Matchroom video on YouTube, referencing the death of Queen Elizabeth II last week.
“On Friday I met with George Warren [of Queensberry Promotions], we had an offer for the fight. We weren’t happy with all the terms, we tried to negotiate those terms and we were told, ‘There is no negotiation, take it or leave it,’ and we took it.
“I spoke to George Warren again this morning, we expect to receive a contract in the next couple of days, and hopefully we can move forward with the fight. There’s no reason not to now; the key terms are agreed.”
Hearn added that talks between BT Sport and DAZN over broadcast terms have also been “extremely positive”.
“The broadcasters could stop this fight, but I don’t think they want to stop the fight,” he said. “I think it’s in everybody’s interests for the fight to take place.
“This is the fight that AJ’s wanted for so long, and he wasn’t prepared to wait any longer. He felt this could be his only opportunity to get the fight with Tyson Fury. Everybody asks him about that fight all the time, he’s continuously fought all challengers, he’s continuously fought everybody that people wanted him to fight, and this is another example of that.
“I think Mr Fury has a great deal, but this one wasn’t really about the money for AJ; this was about the challenge.”
Addressing the purse split specifically, Hearn said: “We weren’t allowed to negotiate. In all deals you negotiate, but we were told unequivocally: ‘No movement, take it or leave it.’ We were treated like the B-side going into the fight. Whether that’s right or wrong, it doesn’t really matter, because AJ wanted the fight.
“If it’s here, I accept.’ I would’ve liked to have negotiated a little bit harder, but for AJ it wasn’t really about that. It was like: ‘If this is real, take it.’”
“If they really want the fight, the fight will get made. [Joshua] is all in for the fight.”
