Anthony Joshua fight with Tyson Fury could head to mystery Far East venue after ‘bizarre’ last-gasp approach, says Hearn
ANTHONY JOSHUA and Tyson Fury’s mega undisputed world heavyweight title fight could finally have a venue after a ‘bizarre approach’ from a country in the Far East, promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed.
It emerged earlier this week that Joshua and Fury had signed a two-fight deal, with the first of those bouts to take place in June or July.
But a couple of key details missing from the fine print were where and when the huge clash would take place.
Saudi Arabia appears to be a front-runner, while Hearn has previously said the U.S., Dubai, Qatar and Singapore are also options.
But the Matchroom mogul admits he has been taken aback by an eleventh-hour offer from a country in the Far East of Asia.
“I had an approach yesterday, not from the Middle East, but it was the most bizarre approach,” he said.
“It was from a very wealthy individual and he wants to do something very special. We’ve had 20 approaches for this fight but you know which ones are serious.
“But this one was just well out there. And it’s a realistic option, money is not an issue with this guy.
“Commercially it’s a bit strange, but it’s not about that. It’s a trophy asset which says this is the biggest event in the world.
“And that’s the mindset of an individual who wants to bring it to his own country. It’s not about selling tickets, it’s not about government investment… I’d be paying for it.
“There’s a number for the fight, you hit the number, you get the fight and the number was not an issue for this individual.”
Ideally, all parties involved with Joshua vs Fury are keen for fans to attend what’s been deemed the biggest fight in British boxing history.
There are still Covid restrictions in place in the Middle East, however, springing the possibility that the fight could be delayed until November time.
Hearn says the individual from said mystery country, will want fans in attendance too, even if it were just 1,000 spectators.
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“They would want fans, but it wouldn’t matter if it was just 1,000 people,” Hearn added.
“I told AJ about it last night and he’s just like ‘I’ll leave it with you mate’. This is an event that you can showcase to the world.
“It’s in Asia… not Macau.”
Hearn is also adamant that the first of Joshua and Fury’s two fights won’t be delayed until the winter, like some reports have suggested.
The 41-year-old explained: “We’ve had five offers already, if the offer in November or December was four times higher… would the fighters look at that? Yeah probably.
“But we don’t want to get in that situation with interim fights, waiting too long, losing a belt.
“One of the attractions, particularly to Saudi, is undisputed. That’s probably one of the biggest things and we might say to them, October or November we can’t guarantee it will be undisputed.
“If the question comes back ‘Can we do it later in the year?’. The answer is no. That’s the date.”