Eddie Hearn has revealed that he and Anthony Joshua are standing firm on their original contract, or at least attempting to resist changes that could put a sour taste in the mouths of British fans.
These proposed changes are, of course, in relation to the Tyson Fury fight, which is now expected to take place in New York.
With Madison Square Garden the likely venue, the two British heavyweights are set to collide in November after completing their respective warm-up fights last month.
First to the stage was Fury, who delivered an uninspiring performance in Thailand but nonetheless stopped the 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in seven rounds.
Even while looking a shadow of his former self, the 37-year-old was afforded minimal difficulty, whereas Joshua suffered two knockdowns in the opening round of his clash with Kristian Prenga.
Still, the 36-year-old scored a second-round stoppage, but it was far from a convincing performance ahead of his long-awaited showdown with Fury.
As for the logistical details surrounding their blockbuster fight, Matchroom promoter Hearn has told IFL TV that the location is not quite set in stone.
This is in spite of the fact that Turki Alalshikh’s right-hand man, Dr Rakan AlHarthy of Sela, is keen to accommodate Netflix’s request for a stateside event.
“It seems like everybody wants the fight [to be] in America … [apart from] Anthony Joshua and myself.
“We are doing everything we can to maintain our contractual position [for a UK fight]. I met with Dr Rakan [AlHarthy]. We’ve got a good relationship – no one’s trying to pull any strings – [Sela are] just saying that Netflix would prefer the fight [to be] in America.
“I said we wouldn’t have signed to fight [Fury] if it [would be] in America. The whole point of this fight was to give this fight to the British fight fans.
“We’re going to get it in the neck for doing the fight in America. It’s disappointing.”
As two of the leading voices for Sela – Saudi Arabia’s sports and entertainment arm – Alalshikh and Dr AlHarthy should have the final say in where the Fury-Joshua fight takes place.
