Anthony Joshua is standing firm on his original demands, according to promoter Eddie Hearn, who has accused Tyson Fury of attempting to swerve their showdown.
The two British heavyweights had reportedly agreed terms to collide on November 20, only for the location of their long-awaited clash to become a contentious discussion point.
For ‘AJ’, we are led to believe it is contractually specified that their fight must take place in the UK, whereas Fury appears to have expressed an openness to lock horns overseas.
As such, there was a chance that the pair would square off at New York’s Madison Square Garden, with Netflix preferring the US as a more profitable destination.
Given that they are set to broadcast the event, Matchroom’s Hearn claims that he and Joshua were willing to cooperate with the streaming giant, but only if the terms of their addendum could be met.
Unfortunately, though, it now appears that such requests are not entirely satisfactory to Turki Alalshikh and Sela, who are positioned to fund the event along with Netflix.
Hearn has therefore told IFL TV that Joshua is standing firm on his original deal.
“If everything that was requested was covered, I think there’s a good chance [it happens in the US]. Yesterday and the day before, we were working towards that. [But] this morning [Thursday], AJ was like, ‘You know what: f**k these guys. Make them fight in the UK – where we signed for’.”
Additionally, Hearn has highlighted Fury’s recent comments as a reason for Joshua’s current stance, with ‘The Gypsy King’ having mentioned Agit Kabayel and Daniel Dubois as potential alternative opponents.
“I feel like we’ve just had enough now, really. I feel like Fury’s just trying to duck out the fight, with his [social media] videos and stuff like that.
“So he’s kind of just made AJ go, ‘All right … you want me to make a decision? I’ve made my decision – honour your contract’.
“AJ’s kind of just gone, ‘You’ll fight anywhere? Okay, fight where we signed to fight. I’m standing firm on the UK’. What was presented to us was a number of changes to a contract we signed. We don’t accept those changes.”
As the saga continues, it appears most fans are none the wiser as to whether this heavyweight contest actually takes place.
