Eddie Hearn feels like he is ‘under a lot of pressure’ to move Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury outside of the UK.
But the chairman of Matchroom Sport is nonetheless doing everything in his power to keep the heavyweight blockbuster on British soil.
Reports have emerged this week suggesting Joshua and Fury will be heading to the US for their clash, tentatively pencilled in for November, with New York’s Madison Square Garden the preferred destination.
Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix then revealed on Wednesday that Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh and streaming giants Netflix are pushing for the fight to take place on a Friday night.
It is all in mind to cater for a prime-time American audience, leaving British fans likely at this point having to wake up in the early hours of Saturday morning to tune in.
But there is one saving grace and that comes from Joshua’s promoter Hearn, who joined talkSPORT Drive with Max Scott and Andy Townsend on Thursday to provide the latest on the whirlwind situation.
Hearn argues, as he has many times, that Joshua’s contract to fight Fury states clearly it must take place in the UK.
Hearn: AJ agrees – Fury fight in US makes no sense
“I’ve seen all the reports, November 20, Madison Square Garden,” Hearn said.
“I kind of feel like right now, me and ‘AJ’ are the last two standing on the hill waving the Union Jack.
“I mean, Anthony Joshua made me insert a clause into the contract that said the fight must happen in the UK.
“So at the moment, it can’t happen anywhere else.”
He continued: “Now, we’re under a lot of pressure.
“Turki Alalshikh, Netflix. Sounds like Tyson Fury. It sounds like everybody’s agreed they want to do this fight at Madison Square Garden.
“We don’t. I mean, we want to make it so financially unviable for them to change the contract that they’ve got no choice but to do it in the UK.
“I honestly don’t know how it’s going to play out. All I can tell you is I can assure you that myself and Anthony are saying it just doesn’t make sense.
“Like, we wouldn’t have signed this contract under its terms if this said the fight was in America.
“So, why should we change it now?”
Fans are getting frustrated that an agreement still hasn’t been made between all parties to make an announcement.
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Some already believe Joshua and Fury are beyond their brightest years, given what they witnessed during both British heavyweight stars’ tune-up fights last month.
Fury stopped 46-year-old Mariusz Wach after seven rounds of action in Thailand, with fight footage saved for an episode of Netflix’s reality show about ‘The Gypsy King.’
Joshua, meanwhile, was full of praise for Kristian Prenga after he survived two first-round knockdowns to stop the Albanian in Saudi Arabia, one day after Fury’s win.
As Hearn has highlighted, only time will tell how this all plays out.
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