Promoter Frank Warren is confident that one of the biggest hurdles in boxing trade talks today will be overcome when it comes to negotiations for a British super fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Just a week after Joshua’s team told Warren’s Queensberry Promotions that his charge had agreed to all the terms laid out by Fury, the WBC champion, Warren expressed optimism that a deal could be reached. It’s true that Warren hasn’t had a great relationship with Joshua’s promoter, Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, but apparently his usual vitriol has been set aside for the sake of diplomacy.
Currently, it appears that Warren is waiting for Hearn’s Matchroom to return with a response to the drafted contract. Joshua has agreed to fight Fury on December 3 in Cardiff, Wales. Joshua also agreed to take the bottom end of a 60-40 split purse.
A key dilemma, however, is the question of which station is broadcasting what would be one of the biggest heavyweight fights in recent history. Fury is linked to BT in the UK and ESPN in the US, while Joshua is linked exclusively to DAZN. Network exclusivity contracts have often been a barrier to making cross-promotional fights in the contemporary boxing business.
Asked to comment on that Gordian Knot, Warren said he hopes all parties behave appropriately and come to some kind of compromise.
“Both fighters have deals with broadcasters and they’re all going to have an adult conversation and make it work,” Warren told SecondsOut.com.
Warren, however, sounded generally optimistic that a deal can be reached because most of the important terms have been agreed to by Joshua.
“I’m not going to go into the details of the contract,” Warren said. “Let them look at the contract. They may or may not have any point to make about it. But the terms, the most important terms, the percentages, if there is a rematch, that percentage is agreed upon, and the date is agreed upon. I’m sure the rest will work out because everyone wants it to happen.”
Joshua is coming off a points loss to WBA, WBO and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch last month in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Fury is coming off a successful defense of his WBC title in the spring with a stoppage of compatriot Dillian Whyte. Fury originally called Usyk out for an uncontested fight to take place later in the year, but shifted the focus from him to Joshua after Usyk stated that he didn’t want to fight until next year.
