The all-British undisputed heavyweight title clash currently dominating the headlines only has a trio of obstacles standing in its way.
Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are in tentative negotiations following a win for the latter over Kubrat Pulev on Saturday night.
Discussing the latest developments, AJ promoter Eddie Hearn gave the lowdown on what needs to happen.
The first thing and possibly the biggest hurdle is ongoing mediation between Fury and Deontay Wilder.
Wilder wants a trilogy with Fury, although he could be persuaded to wait if the terms are correct.
Secondly, broadcasting rights need to be sorted out in the UK between Sky Sports and whether a dual event can go ahead.
Thirdly, the venue. Apart from the money men, the whole of Great Britain wants the fight to stay in the UK.
Saudi Arabia and the United States remain more lucrative options unless Fury vs. Joshua becomes a mega-PPV with huge sponsorship backing.
WBN asked whether putting Wilder on the undercard, potentially against Oleksandr Usyk, would be enough to keep the collision at home.
DAZN
Hearn covered most of the talking points during his weekly ‘Hearn Report’ on ‘The Ak & Barak Show’ on SiriusXM and DAZN.
“I’m very hopeful AJ-Fury gets signed ASAP. We need to finalize the TV network and location, but we all feel that this is the only fight to sign next,” said Hearn.
“Tyson Fury has a way of talking a whole lot. We’ll believe this fight is done when all the I’s are dotted for everything we went through with Wilder.
“The only fight that AJ wants next is Tyson Fury.
“The winner of this fight is absolutely the baddest man on the planet. AJ wants to be undisputed more than anything else.
“If you don’t want to push this sport forward, let’s leave it. We’ll do it for The Ak and Barak Show belt.
“If we vacate the WBO title, Usyk fights Joe Joyce for the belt. He will get little to no recognition.
“The only thing that can derail this fight is legal arbitration from Wilder and his team – that’s out of our hands.”
WBO HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
On the WBO mandatory situation with Usyk getting in the way, Hearn added: “Should we vacate all of our belts if the WBO gets in our way?
“The sport needs to change. Whoever is involved with this fight will get a load of money in terms of sanctioning fees.
“If any governing body doesn’t get involved with this fight, they are missing the boat.
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