Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will take 80 per cent CUTS of their purse if fight is held in UK without fans, says Hearn
TYSON FURY and Anthony Joshua will miss out on “80 per cent” of their purses if their long-awaited showdown takes place behind closed doors in the UK, according to Eddie Hearn.
The eagerly-anticipated heavyweight title unification fight moved a step closer to coming to fruition last weekend when Joshua defended his unified titles with a ninth-round KO victory over Kubrat Pulev.
The Battle of Britain is currently being negotiated by the pair’s representatives, although former WBC heavyweight king Deontay Wilder insists he’s contractually entitled to a trilogy fight with Fury.
One of the two proposed Joshua vs Fury fights is expected to take place in the United Kingdom, although it’s unclear when stadiums and arenas will be allowed to be at full capacity due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Should the unthinkable happen and the fight have to take place behind closed doors, Matchroom chief Hearn says the pair will earn a fraction of what they would in normal circumstances.
Joshua’s promoter told Behind the Gloves: “We’ve had about a dozen approaches from different countries.
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“But the situation is: if you do the fight in England, fighters will get paid about 50 per cent of what they’d [normally get]. Half, that’s what 50 per cent is.
“So it’s a hell of a pay cut. If there are no fans, it’ll be about 80 per cent less.
“So this is another reason why collectively now we have to go out and explore where we’re going to stage it.”
Although Fury and Joshua are desperate to get their hands on one another, Hearn reckons it’ll be difficult to convince them to take such significant pay cuts.
He added: “It’s one thing going, ‘Okay, let’s agree. We’ll do the fight.’ Then it’s, ‘Okay, where? And show me what’s in the pot.’
“If I’m ‘AJ’ or I’m Fury, I’m going, ‘Yeah, we’re all in. 50-50 let’s go. But how much?’
“Do you want to come back and go, ‘Oh, sorry, we couldn’t get any money for the fight because of the pandemic. So are you alright taking X?’
“They’re going, ‘F***ing hell. This is the biggest fight in history.’ So we need to just work together to go out and maximise the revenue for the fights.”
According to Hearn, negotiations over the super-fight are going swimmingly and a preliminary announcement could be made before the end of the year.
He said: “I think the next announcement will be something like, ‘All the terms are agreed.’ And now we go, effectively, to market and decide where we’re going to do this thing.
“But I think realistically. Where are we now? December 19. Maybe by the end of the year. Or early next year to say, ‘It’s on!’
“I know we’ve got the Wilder situation. But honestly, through speaking to people, I don’t want to get too excited, but I don’t think [it’ll be a problem].”