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Anthony Joshua v Tyson Fury: Eddie Hearn 'ready to conclude deal' for December fight

Last updated on .From the section Boxingcomments126

Anthony Joshua holds the belts up and celebrates with his team after beating Andy Ruiz Jr in December
Anthony Joshua regained the WBA, IBF and WBO belts by beating Andy Ruiz Jr in December

Promoter Eddie Hearn says he is "ready to conclude a deal" for a heavyweight unification fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury in December.

The two British fighters hold all four belts between them after Fury beat Deontay Wilder to take the WBC title last month.

Joshua, the WBA, IBF and WBO champion, will fight Kubrat Pulev on 20 June.

Fury is set to face Wilder for a third time this summer after the American triggered a rematch clause.

"There's no reason why we can't put that deal in place now for the winner of those two fights," said Joshua's promoter Hearn.

He added he had reached a point in talks with Fury's US promoter Bob Arum "where we're ready to conclude a deal and try to move forward to get that deal done for December".

"We've just got to iron out some basic things like broadcasters and where the fight is going to take place, but I believe there's a real desire from both sides to get that fight done now.

"To have two British heavyweight champions is unbelievable but to have them fighting for the undisputed championship is something that will never, ever happen in our lifetime again.

"December limits us in the UK, it just really leaves us with the Principality Stadium [in Cardiff], so we're going to look at all options but first thing's first, let's get the deal papered and know exactly where we stand.

"So we've got to make it happen, let's get the deal made now and let those guys concentrate on their big fights in the summer."

Arum, who also promoted Pulev, said on Sunday that Fury will fight Wilder before the 2020 Olympics, which are due to begin in Tokyo on 24 July.

However, he is backing mandatory IBF challenger Pulev to knock out Joshua in their bout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.

Joshua won back the belts with a unanimous points victory over Andy Ruiz Jr in December, having lost them in a chastening defeat in New York last June.

"We've just got to keep focus on the Pulev fight," Hearn told BBC Sport.

"Last time the talk was all about Wilder and it all unravelled at Madison Square Garden in June.

"We don't want any unravelling at Tottenham. We want a brilliant, brutal performance."

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126 comments

  • Comment posted by Dreddy Tennis, at 18:51 4 Mar 2020

    @7 Not a fan of Hearn, but to suggest he dodged Wilder is absurd. Wilder has spent the last few years dodging White and Joshua!

    Unfortunately he thought he could retire out on top by beating up a Tyson Fury fresh out of a mental health and drugs hellhole, promptly lost, then got his backside handed to him when Fury was actually fit enough to fight. No dodging anymore... 😂

  • Comment posted by onepercent, at 18:53 4 Mar 2020

    Saudi Arabia. The Mecca of boxing.

    (Sorry, couldn’t resist).

  • Comment posted by ShaunB, at 18:28 4 Mar 2020

    Well if Eddie said it, then it must be true. Seriously I wouldn’t trust Hearn as far as I can throw him.

  • Comment posted by LeftHookLarry, at 18:17 4 Mar 2020

    If Joshua and Fury fight it needs to be in the UK. However, Both need to focus on the next opponents first....they should win, but it’s not absolutely guaranteed

  • Comment posted by I N T D S N I N V U, at 18:29 4 Mar 2020

    Mr Hearnia pushing for a December fight so he can get his own way & have the fight in Saudi Arabia, no thanks we want the fight in the UK not abroad.

    Also worth mentioning that Pulev is not an easy fight you could say with Pulev's record it's actually a harder fight than AJ's fist fight agaisnt Ruiz.
    Beat Pulev then you can start talking about a unification fight.

  • Comment posted by Knutty Boy, at 18:24 4 Mar 2020

    Would be interested to have the BBC film the contract negotiations. Then we'd see who is telling the truth about making this happen.

    And there go the piggies flying past the window

  • Comment posted by The Goblin Prince , at 18:53 4 Mar 2020

    I can't see it happening.

  • Comment posted by lcfcsam, at 00:48 5 Mar 2020

    @47. Joshua really isn't the bigger cash cow, not by a long way. Once he was, and it may seem strange because in Britain AJ has been the cash cow and may still be (though possibly not anymore), but the real money is in the US, where Fury is now a true superstar, and AJ could walk down almost any street and not get recognised, let alone sell PPV's! It's not even close anymore, Fury the bigger draw

  • Comment posted by The-Artful-Dodga, at 09:14 5 Mar 2020

    Looks like we have a retirement date for Fury then, he'll unify the division then retire with nothing else to prove.

  • Comment posted by airwolf, at 00:43 5 Mar 2020

    Desperately odious Eddie spouting cobblers yet again.
    We,ve got the fight agreed...except for the details....
    We can,t look past their next two opponents ....except by looking past them.
    He,ll be selling fresh air next.

  • Comment posted by Tommyshelby, at 21:16 4 Mar 2020

    I wish boxing could do away with a set up that allows characters like Hearn to come out of the woodwork and make 'deals'. The man is a snide, dodgy car salesman type wearing an expensive suit.

  • Comment posted by My latest post, at 20:01 4 Mar 2020

    Is Boxing turning into WWE ?!?! All for the Money In The Bank

  • Comment posted by Raedwulf, at 19:32 4 Mar 2020

    I've said it before, I'll believe it only when the bell rings for the start of the fight...

  • Comment posted by lcfcsam, at 00:42 5 Mar 2020

    @51 WK was only "off colour" in the Fury fight because Fury made him that way, Fury was just a puzzle that WK couldnt solve, and he made WK look like an amateur. In comparison AJ went to war with an older version of WK and it easily could've gone the other way on another day, Furys win was far more impressive, and whilst Wilder is flawed hes still better than anyone else AJ beaten

  • Comment posted by Phil, at 19:11 4 Mar 2020

    Putting any deal in place right now is tempting fate....fate can be cruel.

  • Comment posted by markyp1965, at 18:43 4 Mar 2020

    The one element that can’t be negotiated around is a heavyweight throwing a big punch, something which Pulev and Wilder are more than capable of doing.
    I’d expect AJ and Fury to win their respective fights and then set up the all British unification match on home soil.

    It has to happen.

  • Comment posted by DC, at 18:21 4 Mar 2020

    The fight we'd all like to see but so many variables to get there...

    No rematch clause in Fury:Wilder IV?

    Planning the Fury:Wilder fight before the Olympics in the current grip of COVID-19?

    The list goes on but I hope we can get this one on...and in the UK!

    Wishful thinking but hoping nonetheless...

  • Comment posted by Seth, at 13:57 5 Mar 2020

    I've no doubt that as fighters, Fury and AJ would fight tomorrow. Unfortunately, I don't trust a word that comes out of Hearn's mouth and I think he is very worried about what a loss to Fury would do to AJ's career. Until a deal is signed and agreed we must accept that we may never see this fight!

  • Comment posted by U17437531, at 09:30 5 Mar 2020

    I wish Tyson Fury nothing but the best. Leaps and bounds ahead of the rest as both fighter and man. Good luck to him.

  • Comment posted by McGuiver, at 07:10 5 Mar 2020

    I believe this would be an easy fight for Fury. AJ can't box at distance like he did in Ruiz 2. He has to come forward and will get picked off and stopped.

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