Tyson Fury will move on from a fight with Anthony Joshua after US promoter Bob Arum branded Eddie Hearn’s promises on the undisputed unification “absurd.”
Arum responded to Hearn going public with his belief that the mega-money match-up was a “done deal” and needed a few more days to be confirmed.
But the fact is, three deadlines to get the battle over the line have expired, and Hearn is desperately scrambling to keep the fight alive.
Talks began in December 2020, five months ago. Fury cannot wait around any longer to get back in the ring after fifteen months out.
The Top Rank boss has confirmed, “The Gypsy King” is far from happy with how it all played out.
“It is absurd what Hearn is saying that it is a done deal,” said Arum to The Telegraph’s Gareth A. Davies.
“If we had just done a site deal without all the other complications that have arisen, we would have a fight by now.
“Tyson Fury is fuming about it and is refusing to keep waiting.”
EDDIE HEARN
Hearn had made what looked to be disrespectful comments on Arum to Sky Sports yesterday.
He said: “This is a massive deal, and no disrespect to Bob, he’s an incredible promoter. He hasn’t been involved in a site deal of this magnitude before,” Hearn told Sky Sports.
“The deal is done. The fighters have agreed to the site. The numbers, they’ve signed the contract already.
“It takes time. “When you’re talking about the biggest fight in world boxing, then just a little bit of support would be nice.”
Saying that kind of thing to a man who promoted Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, and Thomas Hearns is quite brazen by Hearn.
It certainly hasn’t helped with already-strained relations between the pair. Arum is tired of the public statements.
TYSON FURY MOVING ON
Fury looks set to reignite a trilogy with Deontay Wilder for the summer in Las Vegas as Joshua contemplates what went wrong with his and Hearn’s Saudi blockbuster.
UK fans will be happy, though. They never wanted Fury vs. Joshua to take place outside of England. If the fight gets revived moving forward, Wembley Stadium is a no-brainer to host.
Phil Jay is the Editor of WBN. An Auxiliary member of the Boxing Writers Association of America since 2018. And a member of the Sports Journalists’ Association. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
