Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua - 2020 OLD thread

[mickey1975]

Anyone thinking about going out for it?

A lot of Fury fans will, if allowed. I dread to think how they’ll adapt to the culture!

[Ruthless-RKO]

Arum Frustrated: Hearn 'Radio Silent' on Fury-Joshua Site Deal, Fury Might Fight Wilder Next!

A frustrated Top Rank chairman Bob Arum told BS on Monday that he would not be surprised if plans for the all-British undisputed heavyweight championship fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, in the works for late July or early August in Saudi Arabia, fall apart and that Fury next winds up facing former world titleholder Deontay Wilder for the third time.

“Maybe we’ll breathe some life into Wilder, and Fury will fight Wilder and Joshua will fight (WBO mandatory challenger Oleksandr) Usyk,” said Arum to Boxing Scene.

Arum said that he had been bullish on Fury-Joshua being finalized because Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, Joshua's promoter, who has spearheaded the talks with a group from Saudi Arabia, promised that the site deal would be done last week.

But Arum said Hearn has gone “radio silent.”

“Eddie Hearn is busy trying to sell the London Bridge,” Arum said. “Let me tell you – last time I talked to Eddie was early last week and he said he was going to have a signed agreement from the Saudis in 24 hours. Well, he’s a little late. Wouldn’t you be pessimistic if you haven’t heard from him or anybody for a week? We’re the promoter with Frank (Warren) of Fury and we haven’t heard from Eddie in a week.”

Hearn has said he has secured a $150 million site fee from a group in Saudi Arabia that would pick one of three dates -- July 24, July 31 or Aug. 7 – to put the fight on at a site of their choice in the country. Arum said that he was told the likely site would be a new indoor stadium in Jeddah, although he is now not sure the deal will push through.

Arum has long been skeptical of offers from overseas, typically telling reporters when the topic is broached about a major fight that “I’m not packing my bags yet.” That is a reference to needing to make sure the offer and money are legitimate.

Asked about the offer to have Fury-Joshua in Saudi Arabia and if he was getting ready to pack his bags, last week he told Boxing Scene firmly said, “Yes.”

Asked again on Monday, Arum was singing a different tune.

“They’re not packed,” Arum said.

Warren has also been skeptical of Hearn’s ability to deliver the site deal, telling TalkSport in the United Kingdom, “Look, every day I’m being told -- it’s like, ‘It’s in the post.’ It’s not arrived and that’s where we are. I’ll believe it when I see it. We’re being told it’ll be here. I know Tyson’s had enough of hanging around. He wants to fight in June or July and that’s what will happen if this thing doesn’t get resolved very quickly.”

Arum said that while Hearn had sent him and Warren a contract outlining the terms of the site deal it was not binding.

“We got a document and they said it wasn’t binding. We said it has to be binding and we haven’t heard back from them. It says in (the paperwork) it this is not a binding agreement,” Arum said.

“Eddie sent me the draft but it was not a binding agreement and it was supposed to be turned into a binding agreement in 24 hours and Frank and I haven’t spoken to Eddie since. He’s gone radio silent.”

A group in Saudi Arabia did come up with around $60 million and built a temporary outdoor stadium in Diriyah to host Joshua’s rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr. in December 2019, when Joshua won a lopsided decision to reclaim the unified belts he had lost to Ruiz by upset seventh-round knockout in New York.

If there is no Fury-Joshua fight Wilder is the logical next opponent for Fury because Wilder and his team believe Fury still owes him a third fight stemming from their contract for their February 2020 rematch, which Fury won by seventh-round knockout to retain the lineal title and take Wilder’s WBC belt.

The deal for the rematch of their 2018 draw was a two-fight deal with the loser having the contractual right to a third fight. Wilder exercised his right but when the coronavirus pandemic shut down boxing for several months in 2020, the date by which the bout was supposed to take place expired.

Fury decided to move on to another fight but Wilder’s team believes Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs), 32, still owes him the bout based injury and extension language, so he took Fury to mediation, which is what the rematch contract called for in the event of a dispute. The situation was not worked out in mediation and the next step, per the contract, was binding arbitration, which the sides are currently engaged in but with Fury’s team confident enough in their case that they have been making plans for the fight with Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs), 31, going so far as to sign a contract for the fight contingent on a satisfactory site agreement.

“The arbitration is going on but it’s just a waste of time and money,” Arum said.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Respect to Eddie, he seems to be the one doing all the work and thr rest are just sat on their ass, cus they can't deliver anything.

Frank has recently become the most useless promoter..

They probably think Hearn is always so eager, so why not let him do all the work.

[Jimmy2020]

Hearn dropped a bollock overlooking McCracken's availability, and another one when he loaded a boat load of pressure on AJ and McCracken by saying it would get sorted because somebody was investing a fortune with the site fee.

I'd be staggered if AJ didn't kick off about that and suspect that is the likely reason things have gone a bit quiet.

[dbf]

Part of me thinks that the silence is a good thing but a larger part just thinks that maybe its not going to go ahead just yet.

Hearn is going to take a lot of flack if it doesnt come off, rightly or wrongly so. Then fact Tyson is in Vegas, suggests that they had the Wilder triolgy as a back up.

However, this is boxing. The drama is all part of it. It's probably all ready to announce after this weekends PPV.

[mickey1975]

I don’t think there’s enough time now for a July fight.

[coghaugen11]

I don’t think there’s enough time now for a July fight.

Why? Unless they are dossing around they should only need a few weeks to fight. Ray Robinson often fought fortnightly.

[mickey1975]

Part of me thinks that the silence is a good thing but a larger part just thinks that maybe its not going to go ahead just yet.

Hearn is going to take a lot of flack if it doesnt come off, rightly or wrongly so. Then fact Tyson is in Vegas, suggests that they had the Wilder triolgy as a back up.

However, this is boxing. The drama is all part of it. It's probably all ready to announce after this weekends PPV.

It’s not the Hearn show, why would they announce it on a Chisora card? BT, MTK, Arum and Wazza might want a say in that.

[maverick23]

Hearn doesn’t help himself at times. He’s too optimistic about things. The announcement’s been 2 weeks away for 3 months and he’s clearly over promised re: when the contract will be ready.

I was similar during my first graduate job, always eager with work and saying things would be done quickly when in reality all that caused was for me to being working 80 hour weeks to get them done in time. I always tell anyone now to ‘under promise, over deliver’ so at least then it reflects better on you personally.

It’s pretty clear he’s the only one doing anything with the deal but he shouldn’t be giving Bob/FW any ammunition to call him out on it.

[BigDoofus]

I don’t think there’s enough time now for a July fight.

Why? Unless they are dossing around they should only need a few weeks to fight. Ray Robinson often fought fortnightly.

I doubt that Robinson's opponents were calling for 12 weeks VADA testing.

[BigDoofus]

Hearn doesn’t help himself at times. He’s too optimistic about things. The announcement’s been 2 weeks away for 3 months and he’s clearly over promised re: when the contract will be ready.

Like he promised the Josh Warrington unification fight

[maverick23]

Hearn doesn’t help himself at times. He’s too optimistic about things. The announcement’s been 2 weeks away for 3 months and he’s clearly over promised re: when the contract will be ready.

Like he promised the Josh Warrington unification fight

Completely different.

Warrington was signed one month before a national lockdown whereby bringing a foreign fighter over was difficult and not having a crowd (c.20,000) would massively affect the financials.

Warrington won’t sell many PPVs so the £1-£2m of gate receipts would be needed to make it happen.

[dbf]

Part of me thinks that the silence is a good thing but a larger part just thinks that maybe its not going to go ahead just yet.

Hearn is going to take a lot of flack if it doesnt come off, rightly or wrongly so. Then fact Tyson is in Vegas, suggests that they had the Wilder triolgy as a back up.

However, this is boxing. The drama is all part of it. It's probably all ready to announce after this weekends PPV.

It’s not the Hearn show, why would they announce it on a Chisora card? BT, MTK, Arum and Wazza might want a say in that.

Sorry, I was saying the announcement will be next week, after the Chis-Parker PPV.

[maverick23]

Part of me thinks that the silence is a good thing but a larger part just thinks that maybe its not going to go ahead just yet.

Hearn is going to take a lot of flack if it doesnt come off, rightly or wrongly so. Then fact Tyson is in Vegas, suggests that they had the Wilder triolgy as a back up.

However, this is boxing. The drama is all part of it. It's probably all ready to announce after this weekends PPV.

It’s not the Hearn show, why would they announce it on a Chisora card? BT, MTK, Arum and Wazza might want a say in that.

Sorry, I was saying the announcement will be next week, after the Chis-Parker PPV.

It wouldn’t surprise me though with Eddie. ‘Tune in on PPV to see the biggest announcement in British boxing history.....only on PPV!’

[BigDoofus]

Hearn doesn’t help himself at times. He’s too optimistic about things. The announcement’s been 2 weeks away for 3 months and he’s clearly over promised re: when the contract will be ready.

Like he promised the Josh Warrington unification fight

Completely different.

Warrington was signed one month before a national lockdown whereby bringing a foreign fighter over was difficult and not having a crowd (c.20,000) would massively affect the financials.

Warrington won’t sell many PPVs so the £1-£2m of gate receipts would be needed to make it happen.

How was it different? He was promising the unification fight earlier this year. The lockdown or the fact that Xu Can wasn't a World champion had no effect on Hearn's bolshy bluster.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Like he promised the Josh Warrington unification fight

Completely different.

Warrington was signed one month before a national lockdown whereby bringing a foreign fighter over was difficult and not having a crowd (c.20,000) would massively affect the financials.

Warrington won’t sell many PPVs so the £1-£2m of gate receipts would be needed to make it happen.

How was it different? He was promising the unification fight earlier this year. The lockdown or the fact that Xu Can wasn't a World champion had no effect on Hearn's bolshy bluster.

I think it's different..

[tony1234]

Beginning to think this doesn't happen, Fury walks away from boxing and Joshua fights Whyte

[mickey1975]

Beginning to think this doesn't happen, Fury walks away from boxing and Joshua fights Whyte

Fury is going nowhere. In his absolute prime and enjoying his boxing.

[Jimmy2020]

Beginning to think this doesn't happen, Fury walks away from boxing and Joshua fights Whyte

Fury is going nowhere. In his absolute prime and enjoying his boxing.

Agreed. This is THE fight for both these lads. I'd be staggered if either fought anybody else in their next fight. This one is worth probably ten times more than any other for them.

[margaret thatcher]

tbh i think a lot of ppl dont want the fight to happen, for the reason that it is somehow a victory for the 'machine'

look at the moaning about the location, crowd, etc.......it's like people dont even give a f@ck about the fight in the ring!

[Ruthless-RKO]

tbh i think a lot of ppl dont want the fight to happen, for the reason that it is somehow a victory for the 'machine'

look at the moaning about the location, crowd, etc.......it's like people dont even give a f@ck about the fight in the ring!

What's the machine?

[BigDoofus]

Completely different.

Warrington was signed one month before a national lockdown whereby bringing a foreign fighter over was difficult and not having a crowd (c.20,000) would massively affect the financials.

Warrington won’t sell many PPVs so the £1-£2m of gate receipts would be needed to make it happen.

How was it different? He was promising the unification fight earlier this year. The lockdown or the fact that Xu Can wasn't a World champion had no effect on Hearn's bolshy bluster.

I think it's different..

How different is the "Saudi contract within 24 hours" to the Warrington - Xu Can unification?

[handsofstone]

How was it different? He was promising the unification fight earlier this year. The lockdown or the fact that Xu Can wasn't a World champion had no effect on Hearn's bolshy bluster.

I think it's different..

How different is the "Saudi contract within 24 hours" to the Warrington - Xu Can unification?

It was Xu who wanted to wait it out until crowds were there , like most he probably assumed that the Lara win was a cert

[BigDoofus]

I think it's different..

How different is the "Saudi contract within 24 hours" to the Warrington - Xu Can unification?

It was Xu who wanted to wait it out until crowds were there , like most he probably assumed that the Lara win was a cert

So it would have been a unification without World champions?

[handsofstone]

How different is the "Saudi contract within 24 hours" to the Warrington - Xu Can unification?

It was Xu who wanted to wait it out until crowds were there , like most he probably assumed that the Lara win was a cert

So it would have been a unification without World champions?

Eh? Warrington was still champ when it was supposed to happen and it was assumed by most that he would still be after he fought Lara, the Xu fight was apparantly happening in summer