Eddie Hearn has hinted at what could be the only potential stumbling block in the plans for his man Anthony Joshua to take on Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia later this year.
Money is unlikely to be an issue in the proposal on offer from Skill Challenge Entertainment, and both Joshua and Wilder’s teams have been open in their desire for the fight to be next.
However, in a recent interview with IFL TV, Hearn stated that, although he remained confident the historic cross Atlantic clash would get done, it was imperative that Joshua’s broadcasting rights deal with DAZN was respected.
“Subject to a formal contract being sent, we’re very confident that fight gets made. I can’t speak on behalf of Deontay Wilder, but I’m very confident he’ll be accepting the money and the deal that comes through from Saudi Arabia.
For us, it’s making sure that all of our contracts are respected. That probably means a multi platform deal around that night.
We can’t breach our agreements, but I don’t think that it will be an issue.”
Joshua of course is no stranger to boxing in Saudi Arabia, with the oil rich country having played host to his successful rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr back in 2019, as well as his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last summer.
It appears that Skill Challenge Entertainment are strongly determined to host AJ vs Wilder, even if they can’t agree terms for an undisputed fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on the same card, as was widely reported to have been the original plan.