Eddie Hearn has provided some clarity on the negotiations between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua for a December 3 heavyweight title bout in Cardiff – and it’s not good news.
Whilst not officially confirming that talks have ended, it rather seems that they’ve just fizzled out. Following two deadlines set and missed last week, Fury certainly seems to have moved on.
Hearn, who has guided ‘AJ’s career ever since he turned pro off the back of an Olympic Gold Medal, answered some questions on the talks via his Matchroom YouTube channel. Firstly, he addressed the idea from Fury’s side that he was to blame for the delay and potential failure.
“Rival promoter blames the other promoter for a fight not happening – shock horror. I mean people surely aren’t thick enough to see that Tyson Fury has called two deadlines on this fight and the fight has passed.
People talk about putting up barriers. We sent our final draft contract back to sign. Not ‘we’re not getting back to anyone.’ You know we talk about arbitration, they want to appoint their partner as an arbitrator – that sort of stuff doesn’t work. Then we get another [deadline] on Wednesday. Tyson Fury says we’re telling you now the fight is off unless you sign on Wednesday. I said it’s impossible. That deadline passed, I’ve not heard back from George Warren since Wednesday.
So, as far as we’re concerned, the fight’s off. I mean, we’re happy to continue the discussions … Again, no bad words to say about George Warren. I’ve seen some of Frank Warren’s comments but, at the end of the day, you’ve got a guy putting in deadlines, telling us the fight’s off.
At the weekend, or Friday, Derek Chisora received a contract for the Tyson Fury fight. So have other fighters. So in our mind, he’s not fighting Anthony Joshua. We’re more than happy to continue those conversations, but what we’ve been told is the deadline has passed – and so have the entire country..”
Addressing comments from Fury’s US promoter, Bob Arum, Hearn doesn’t seem to hold his opinion in high regard. The head of Top Rank came out at the weekend to say the Matchroom man was delaying talks because he didn’t want Joshua to take the fight.
“Look, Bob Arum two [or three] weeks ago gave an interview and said ‘there’s absolutely no chance this fight happens’ – now apparently there’s no barriers and it’s my fault. But, let’s be honest, if you asked Bob Arum what day it was right now, there’s only a 50% chance he’d get it right.”
Following some initial positive signs, the fight between Fury and Joshua seems to have fallen at the negotiation stage for the second time this year. If that does turn out to be the case, it may leave fans wondering if it’s destined to just not happen at all.