Yahoo Finance Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury will take place in Saudi Arabia, Eddie Hearn confirms
Saudi Arabia is set to host the world heavyweight title unification fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed.
The British pair agreed a two-fight deal in March to unify the heavyweight division with both Joshua, holder of the IBF, WBO, WBA and IBO titles, and Fury, the WBC champion, putting their belts on the line.
Both Joshua and Fury have since grown agitated with the negotiations between parties proving lengthy.
But a resolution appears to be close with Matchroom chief Hearn hinting that Saudi Arabia, as has long been mooted, will indeed host the bout in August.
“August the 7th, August the 14th. I think it’s a very bad secret that the fight is happening in Saudi Arabia,” Hearn told Sky Sports.
“It’s the same people we did the deal with for Andy Ruiz, that event was spectacular. As partners they were fantastic as well.”
Joshua won back his belts from Andy Ruiz Jr in Diriyah, on the outskirts of the Saudi capital Riyadh, in December 2019.
“We’re very comfortable. Anthony’s comfortable, he knows those people,” he added. “They delivered on every one of their promises last time, we’re ready to go.”
Hearn added the fight makes more sense on the 14th in terms of the global spectacle, with the Tokyo Olympics finishing on 8 August, but hopes to nail down the confirmed date in the next few days.
“There’s no reason why it shouldn’t happen this week,” he added. “This is kind of like the moment where you could actually turn around at this point and say, ‘This is dragging on too long, or I can’t be dealing with this anymore.’
“But we have to nail this, and I’m not going to stop until I nail it, and everyone has just got to move forward collectively.
“We’re ready to go from our side. We’re not far away from their side and it is inevitable, but at the same time, we’ve got to close the door on it.”
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