Matchroom's Eddie Hearn said on Friday night that Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York is the preferred choice of Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Al-Sheikh, WWE president and TKO board member Nick Khan and streaming service Netflix as the venue to host an Anthony Joshua versus Tyson Fury fight.
Speaking to The Athletic following the official weigh-in ahead of Joshua's fight against Kristian Prenga on Saturday night, Hearn said: “They've had a decent offer from MSG. And time zones as well; I think the aim would be to do it at three o'clock in the morning UK time, which would be 10pm in the U.S. (Eastern Time)â€.
If Joshua emerges victorious from his fight in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Hearn says there is a possibility that the fight with Fury could be officially announced, despite the fact that the contract that Joshua has signed stipulates that the fight must be held in the UK.
“They want the fight in the U.S. — Turki, Nick Khan, Netflix. I think Netflix feel like it'll do a bigger number in the U.S. if it's on at prime time there. We want the fight in the UK. We've insisted that within the contract, and if that's going to change, then we need to have a conversation about it.
“You can't just announce that it's in the U.S. — though they might do that — but that would be a big problem if that's the case. So hopefully if that is what they want to do, we'll have a chat and then see where we get to.â€
Al-Sheikh is known for dropping major boxing news and fight announcements on his own social media channels — sometimes before the likes of Hearn or other promoters formally reveal them. But Hearn remains adamant that a new deal will need to be made before the fight can officially be moved to the U.S.
He claimed on Friday there are already “quite a few bits in the contract that haven't been adhered toâ€, but declined to go into detail. “They're not necessarily material breaches, but where the fight is, is a material breach.â€
The sticking point of having the fight in the U.S., says Hearn, is two-fold: Firstly, he says the “feeling†has always been that London, as Joshua's home town, is the best place for him to fight Fury: “We feel like he has massive support there.â€
Fury beat Wach in Thailand on Friday (Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP via Getty Images)
Secondly, on a financial level, the tax position is different for both fighters if the fight takes place abroad. “So the net amount is completely different,†says Hearn, adding that “could be part of the conversation†if the contract is amended.
He insists the finances are a secondary factor here though, behind the principle and the “feeling.â€
“If this was previously between Matchroom and Queensberry, and we'd signed a contract, and then Frank Warren said, ‘We're changing the venue, we're going to another country,' we would never agree a deal.
“But Turki is a partner, and so we're not saying ‘The fight's off.' What we're saying is, you can't just change a contract. We've got to talk about it, for a number of different reasons. Financial is a basic one. But a lot of it is more on the feeling of AJ. He asked for it to be in the UK. That's why it's in the contract.
“If you don't want the fight in America because you're hell-bent on it being in the UK, something's got to change your mind. I can't go to AJ and say, ‘By the way mate, I know you want it in the UK. And it's going to cost you more money to go to the U.S. but it's in the U.S.' And when he asks why? I go, ‘Well, Netflix want it.'
“He'd say, ‘I don't give a f***.'
“We've agreed it, so it's not a case of how much are you going to pay us? But that is part of the conversation.â€
