Eddie Hearn believes a fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will not be staged in Saudi Arabia.
The head of Matchroom, which is the main rival to Fury’s UK co-promotional outfit Queensberry, reckons the reason behind the undisputed showdown not taking place in the desert is because it doesn’t involve one of his fighters.
That fighter Hearn is referring to is Anthony Joshua, the former WBA Super, IBF, IBO and WBO world heavyweight champion who has lost twice at the hands of Ukraine’s Usyk.
London’s Wembley Stadium is now the frontrunner to host the fight between Usyk, who holds all of Joshua’s old titles as well as Fury’s old Ring Magazine belt, and the enigmatic ‘Gypsy King’, who has custody of the WBC crown, with a date of April 29 being rumored.
No confirmation of the fight has yet been received, but Hearn told iFL TV on Friday that the reason behind why it’s not going to the money-laden state of Saudi is due to the lack of appeal to its investors.
“The fight’s not big enough,” he said. “The fight’s not big enough for the money Tyson Fury wants because it doesn’t involve Anthony Joshua.
“[Joshua] may be the only guy that can command that kind of money, but hopefully we can make Tyson Fury against Anthony Joshua, and then Tyson will get the numbers he wants.”
A fight between Tyson Fury and Joshua –– who returns on April 1 at the O2 Arena in London, exclusively live on DAZN, against America’s Jermaine Franklin –– has been mooted on several occasions since the pair have been professionals but it has never materialized.
It did seem to be on the cards last year before negotiations collapsed and Fury took on Derek Chisora for a third time instead.
Fury, 34, and 36-year-old Usyk are both unbeaten, and a contest between the fighters would crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000.
But Hearn insists the Saudis would “definitely pay the money” should an all-British blockbuster between Fury and the Olympic gold medalist Joshua land in the kingdom.
By Elliot Foster