Eddie Hearn’s confidence in a proposed fight between Anthony Joshua and WBC champion Tyson Fury is slipping fast.
Hearn, the boss of Matchroom Boxing, has been reviewing a contract for the pivotal British heavyweight showdown since receiving it from Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions last week, but Hearn, while still somewhat confident the fight can happen, is appalled by Fury’s recent outburst on social media and the fact that the contract was “all over the place.”
Fury posted a video on his Instagram on Friday calling Joshua a “sausage” for not having signed the contract yet.
“We have all agreed to work hard on the contracts,” Hearn told iFL TV. “Listen, we got the contract last Friday or Saturday and it was all over the place. Since then we have received calls as recently as yesterday to put it in the right place.
“Just from his message (Fury), I don’t know. I think they want us to run out of time a little bit.”
Hearn said he didn’t appreciate being rushed into signing a contract for such a mammoth fight. Earlier this week, Warren insisted that he needed a response from Hearn by “the end of this week.”
“We’re not going to sign a contract that isn’t in the right format and isn’t in the best interest of Anthony Joshua,” Hearn said. “And that’s not for people to say ‘what are you asking for too much’, the terms are agreed. We agreed to those terms. But now we have to enter into a negotiating position with the broadcasters. Honestly, hand on heart, what I think Tyson Fury is going to do [is], ‘oh, this is taking too long’. The fight is on December 3.
“The fight, by the way, can sell itself in 24 hours. We don’t have any time constraints, like it has to be done today or tomorrow. It has to be the right thing to do. We want the fight. AJ is in camp for that fight. Just, when I see things like that (Fury video), I like it when everyone is quiet, because I thought they really wanted the fight. And then he (Fury) comes out today (with his insults) – I don’t know.”
“We’re still moving forward with the hope that the fight will get done,” Hearn said.
Despite his general optimism, Hearn said he believes Fury will fight Mahmoud Charr on December 3 instead of Joshua.
“Tyson Fury is saying ‘sign the contract,'” Hearn said. “He took 10 days to send the contract, or eight or nine days. Suddenly [they say] ‘we want it signed now’ when (the contract) was all over the place. We’ll see. My gut feeling is that Tyson Fury is preparing to fight Mahmoud Charr and this is all just [a show]— but I hope I’m wrong.
“The way I read (the situation) is that Matchroom and Queensberry are doing everything they can to try and make this fight,” Hearn added. “It’s complicated. DAZN and BT have yet to get involved. And that’s coming or starting.”
