Eddie Hearn Resists New York Move For Joshua Fury

“I’ve seen all the reports, you know, November 20th, Madison Square Garden,” Hearn said on talkSPORT Boxing. “I kind of feel like right now me and AJ are kind of like the last two standing on the hill waving the Union Jack. 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.

“We’re under a lot of pressure. Turki Alashikh, Netflix, sounds like Tyson Fury. It sounds like everybody’s agreed they want to do this fight at Madison Square Garden. We don’t. 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. 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?”

Hearn’s comments indicate the venue remains unresolved despite widespread speculation pointing toward Madison Square Garden. If Joshua’s contract contains the UK venue clause Hearn described, moving the fight to New York would require both sides to agree to revised terms rather than simply announcing a new location.

The venue remains one of the final unresolved issues for a fight boxing fans have pursued for years. Hearn left little doubt that Joshua’s side wants the event staged in Britain and intends to honor the agreement already in place. That leaves organizers with more negotiations before the heavyweight showdown can be finalized.