The “Battle of Britain” between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua was just officially confirmed. Now, a behind-the-scenes dispute between promoters could once again derail the long-awaited mega-fight.
The blockbuster heavyweight bout between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, with millions at stake, could be history again shortly after its announcement. Several media outlets and boxing insiders are reporting that the long-awaited British showdown is in danger of falling through.
“They’re a bunch of cowardly little shits.”
Fury himself stated on Instagram that the “Battle of Britain” was on the verge of being called off. “Breaking News: Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn are trying to get out of this fight. They’re saying he won’t be fighting after all. They’re cowardly little shits—and it’s mostly because of Eddie Hearn’s ego. He comes up with a million different things and threatens, ‘We’re not going to fight.’ You little coward,” raged the 2.06-meter-tall former world champion. According to Fury, the promoters are already looking for a replacement opponent.
Yet Saudi boxing promoter Turki Al-Sheikh had only announced the fight as finalized on Thursday. Fury and Joshua are set to box on December 11 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff in front of 80,000 fans, with Netflix planning to broadcast the event worldwide. According to media reports, the 38-year-old Fury and Joshua, who is two years younger, could each earn up to 100 million pounds—about 116 million euros.
Promoter Feud: Hearn vs. White
The dispute appears to stem from the relationship between Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, and U.S. promoter Dana White. When Madison Square Garden in New York was initially considered the preferred venue, Hearn pushed for the fight to be held in the UK and demanded that White not be given any role as a promoter. This is a contentious issue because White is closely tied to Al-Sheikh. The Saudi businessman is also financing the fight with funds from the royal family’s Public Investment Fund. Together, Al-Sheikh and White founded the Zuffa boxing league in the U.S. and aim to take market share away from established promoters like Hearn. When the Cardiff event was announced, White was listed as the promoter on behalf of “The Ring,” a magazine owned by Al-Sheikh.
Joshua and Fury had signed contracts with Al-Sheikh and the Saudi event promoter Sela in the spring. According to Hearn, Joshua’s contract stipulates both a venue in the United Kingdom and the exclusion of White as a promoter. Fury confirmed that a similar clause was also in his contract, but that he had it removed: “Apparently, Joshua’s contract stated that Dana wasn’t allowed to be involved. That was in mine, too, but I took it out so he could be involved.”
U.S. boxing manager Rick Glaser also believes the fight has fallen through and blames Hearn. “Eddie Hearn has finally done it. He completely overstepped his role and caused the fight to fall through,” he wrote. The “relevant powers” had canceled the event once again. Hearn is setting conditions, “even though he’s neither financing the event nor providing a media platform like Netflix.”
Bönte criticizes Fury & Co.
Bernd Bönte, longtime manager of the Klitschko brothers, sees the situation differently. “As someone who has negotiated major contracts with Eddie Hearn—such as the one for the 2017 fight between Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium — I can only say that all the details of such an agreement—who enters the ring first, what the ring size is, etc.—must be reflected exactly in the boxers’ contracts,” he said on ntv/RTL. “A contract is a contract. If Hearn and Joshua negotiated and signed a contract stating that White is not the promoter, and he is now supposed to be the promoter after all, then that’s a breach of contract—it’s that simple. That would be absolutely unprofessional on the part of the organizers led by Turki Al-Sheikh.”
Fury also criticizes Bönte. People know that he “does whatever he wants.” Furthermore, the fact that the “Gypsy King” had the White clause removed is disloyal to his longtime promoter, Frank Warren. “Warren is certainly anything but eager for White to now act as a promoter in the UK.” Fury and Al-Sheikh had likely counted on Joshua to back down in light of the huge purse. “If he and Hearn insist on the contract now, it speaks to their backbone—especially Joshua’s. After all, it’s his money at stake,” explained Bönte.
Text: Frank Schwantes