Hearn Pushes Back After Fury-Joshua New York Reports

Eddie Hearn has pushed back on reports that Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have signed contracts to fight on November 20 at Madison Square Garden, insisting the deal is not yet ready to be announced.

The Matchroom chairman told IFL TV that negotiations remain active but warned that Joshua’s side has not approved the terms now being pushed by the other parties, with the venue dispute still central to whether the fight is finalised.

The latest round of public pressure began after Netflix ran a promo during Monday’s WWE Raw broadcast advertising Joshua-Fury as “coming soon”. Fury then posted a self-recorded video on social media in which he said, “I’ve got some big news that’s going to be dropped very, very soon. All is good in the hood, big fight on the horizon. It’s the one you’ve all been waiting for. About to be announced imminently. Stay tuned.”

That was followed by a Daily Mail report claiming Joshua and Fury had signed for November 20 in New York. Hearn’s response was to make clear that, from Matchroom’s perspective, an announcement without the necessary contract amendments and approval would not mean the fight was done. He said the original agreement he signed off on was for the fight to take place in the UK, and any move to the United States requires further negotiation.

Venue dispute hardens

Hearn said the pressure for America is coming from the other side of the table, including Turki Alalshikh, Netflix and Madison Square Garden, while Joshua and Matchroom have continued to argue for the fight to be staged in the UK. He also clarified that Fury was willing to fight in America rather than insisting on the switch himself.

The dispute matters because the fight has now moved beyond the usual public brinkmanship around Joshua-Fury. Hearn said the opposing side is attempting to alter most of the terms already agreed, prompting his question of why Joshua or Matchroom should continue to concede ground when the UK was a principal term of the deal. He also said that if Netflix no longer wanted to broadcast the fight in the UK, that was not Matchroom’s problem because Netflix had already signed for the fight on that basis.

Hearn has remained in daily contact with Dr Rakan Al-Harbi and said there is an infrastructure that could still deliver the deal, but he does not consider an announcement imminent. He expects a resolution and estimated only a 5-10 per cent chance the fight does not happen, but said it is very unlikely to be announced this week unless Matchroom’s conditions are met.

The Matchroom promoter also questioned Dana White’s public positioning in the talks. White, whose Zuffa Boxing is seeking a major role in the event, said at the weekend, “Listen, this saga, we’ll see how this whole thing plays out. I mean they either want to fight, or they don’t. I don’t know. We did the television and venue deal.” White added, “To make a fight, two guys have to want to fight – period, end of story. Contracts, and this and that – there’s a lot of money for grabs in this fight. Do you want to fight? Or not? I don’t give a s—t one way or the other. It’s up to them … The fight should have happened 10 years ago. Is it going to happen now? We’ll see.”

Hearn’s position is that White’s account has shifted between promoting the fight and making the deal, and he questioned why the contract would stipulate a UK fight and exclude White if Zuffa had brokered it. His message was that any involvement from White or Zuffa must fit the existing contractual position rather than override it.

The fight only stayed alive after both heavyweights came through interim bouts last month, despite White having voiced reservations about that route. Fury stopped Mariusz Wach in seven rounds in Thailand, while Joshua survived two first-round knockdowns against Kristian Prenga before stopping him in the second round.

WBC ready to sanction eliminator

The sanctioning landscape has also started to form around the negotiations. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told Betway Insider that Joshua-Fury would be approved as a final eliminator if the fight is made, with Fury currently ranked No. 1 by the organisation and Joshua at No. 5.

“The WBC would absolutely approve that as a final eliminator, because Tyson Fury is the number one contender of the division,” Sulaiman said. “And the WBC absolutely would be proud to be part of that promotion. Both fighters are tremendous. Tyson Fury is one of the greatest ambassadors ever of the WBC. We are so proud, he has always been very friendly, very kind, inside and outside of the ring. Anthony Joshua, the WBC [was the first to rank him] when he started boxing. He was number two contender. When he had the opportunity from the IBF [to fight Charles Martin], he had to go the other way and that he was the WBC International Champion for several years, but that’s the way boxing is. Maybe this will be the time to bring Anthony Joshua to the WBC.”

Agit Kabayel is the current WBC heavyweight champion following Oleksandr Usyk’s decision to relinquish his belts, and Sulaiman said the organisation has given Kabayel’s team time to secure a first defence. “We have given opportunity to [Kabayel’s promoter] Queensberry and Spencer Brown to try to find the best match possible for his debut as full world champion,” Sulaiman said. “We’ll wait a few more days to see if they have something in place. If not, then the WBC will come in a ruling.”

Fury’s manager Spencer Brown also told BoxingScene in July that he planned to approach the WBA about putting its ‘super’ title on the line for Joshua-Fury, though that status ceased to exist when Usyk gave up his belts, leaving Murat Gassiev as the WBA’s lone heavyweight titlist.

For now, the fight remains close enough for Netflix, Fury and outside stakeholders to signal movement, but not close enough for Matchroom to sign off. The next stage is whether the New York plan is amended to Joshua’s satisfaction, or whether the parties find a route back to the UK terms Hearn says were already agreed.