“What they want to do is they want to pay Anthony Joshua less money because that’s how it will work out with the difference in location. They want him to do a load of additional stuff. I’m not going to blow things up, which I could do so easily, but there has been breaches in AJ’s contract already which we’ve let slide because these guys are our partners and our friends, or were,” said Hearn.
Correcting “are” to “were” when describing the organizers as friends shows how badly the relationship has deteriorated. Hearn’s position is that Joshua signed for a British event and cannot be blamed for refusing to accept less money and additional duties merely because the preferred location changed.
Much of his anger was directed at a leaked Matchroom email containing a list of unresolved issues. Hearn believes it was deliberately circulated to journalists and falsely presented as Joshua’s demands for agreeing to fight in America.
None of the items in that email were included in the addendum Matchroom submitted for the proposed US move, he said. In Hearn’s view, the leak was intended to support Fury’s accusation that Joshua and Matchroom were being greedy and holding up the fight.
There were also claims that some people were financially encouraged to repost Fury’s version of events. Hearn offered no evidence during the press conference, so that allegation remains entirely his account. Still, anyone reading an alleged list of new demands without knowing it came from a separate email would naturally conclude that Joshua was asking for more.
The dispute extends to Dana White. Hearn says the agreement excludes TKO and Zuffa from promoting the event, despite White publicly identifying himself as its promoter. Nick Khan contacted Hearn about finding a way for TKO to participate, but White’s public approach had damaged those talks.
Time is nearly gone. The coming week was described as the deadline for preserving the proposed November date. Netflix needs time to promote the event, while Madison Square Garden may release the date and book something else. Joshua remains committed to fighting Fury, but the argument over location, money, and promotional control must be resolved within days.
Read the full article here
