Matchroom promoter, Eddie Hearn, has responded to the leaked purse figures of the proposed four-man heavyweight tournament in Saudi Arabia and claims the numbers are wide of the mark.
Talks of the tournament has grabbed the attention of boxing fans, with Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder being planned to appear on the same card in what would undoubtedly be the heavyweight event of the century.
Although Fury has dismissed the speculation, parties of each of the other three contestants have either expressed interest in the event or confirmed that there is some substance to the speculation.
TalkSPORT’s Simon Jordan was quick to break news of the purse fee’s that each fighter would receive, with ground-breaking figures setting a new precedent for the sport but also showing the intent of Prince Khalid and the ambition of Saudi Arabia to become a new powerhouse in boxing.
💵 Simon Jordan has revealed rumours of the proposed purses for Fury vs Usyk and Joshua vs Wilder in Saudi Arabia in December: [@talkSPORT talkBOXING]
💰 Tyson Fury – £90million
💰 Oleksandr Usyk – £50million
💰 Anthony Joshua – £30million
💰 Deontay Wilder – £30million— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) May 4, 2023
However, in an interview with Boxing Social, Hearn was quick to silence the suggestions of a purse leak, categorically denying the supposed leak, saying numbers have not been discussed as of yet.
“I mean obviously there hasn’t even been one number discussed yet and those numbers are so wrong it is unbelievable. We have not had an official number put to us yet, and those numbers are miles off anyway.”
“No idea [where Simon Jordan is getting these numbers from], some geezer down the pub? Twitter? Everyone talks, don’t they.”
Hearn confirmed that talks remain ongoing for the historic night of boxing, with hopes of putting pen to paper to their side of the night in the next few weeks.