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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Martin Domin

Eddie Hearn provides update on Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury as offer is expected

Eddie Hearn is confident Anthony Joshua will fight Tyson Fury on December 3 in Cardiff.

Joshua accepted his rival's offer last Friday which will see him earn 40 per cent of a potential £75million purse, and 50 per cent of a rematch should he win the first meeting. Fury's promoter Frank Warren will now send a contract to Hearn and the Matchroom boss expects to wrap up a deal imminently.

"On Friday I met with George Warren and we had an offer for the fight," he told the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel. "We weren't happy with all the terms and we tried to negotiate those terms but we were told there was no negotiation, it was take it or leave it and we took it. We accepted the offer in writing on Friday.

Eddie Hearn with Anthony Joshua (Getty Images)

"I spoke to George Warren again this morning and we expect to receive a contract in the next few days and hopefully we can move forward with the fight. There is no reason not to, the key terms are agreed; there is a broadcast situation to sort out which at the moment is extremely positive. At the moment we're in a good place."

Joshua and Fury appeared to be on very different trajectories after the former suffered a second successive defeat by Oleksandr Usyk last month. Usyk was due to take on Fury in December for the undisputed crown in Saudi Arabia but the Ukrainian claims he won't be ready until February or March.

Joshua, meanwhile, was due to return in mid-December in the UK in an effort to rebuild his career, and Hearn admitted: "It's not what we expected; coming off the Usyk defeat we expected AJ would come back with an easier fight in December and maybe one in the spring then Dillian Whyte and [Deontay] Wilder but this is the fight AJ has wanted for so long and he wasn't prepared to wait any longer.

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"He felt this was his opportunity to get the fight with Tyson Fury. I think Mr Fury has a great deal but this wasn't about the money for us. 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 and it came down to AJ wanting the fight.

"I always have my doubts about Tyson Fury but everything I hear from George Warren I believe and they are saying all the right things. They are saying 100 per cent they want the fight and if they do, they'll get it. "

The one remaining potential hurdle would appear to be the broadcast situation with Fury signed to BT Sport and Joshua to DAZN. But both fighters are open to a dual pay-per-view deal, and Hearn added: "Those conversations are already rolling and I don't see why an amicable solution can't be found. The broadcasters could stop this fight but I don't think they want to. It's in everybody's interest for this fight to happen."

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