Frank Warren has confirmed Matchroom rival Eddie Hearn bypassed him and went straight to Tyson Fury with an offer to face Anthony Joshua on April 13.
The Hall of Fame promoter opened up on talks for a potential UK super-fight between the two biggest names in their respective country.
Hearn was vocal this week in his bid to secure Fury, having given up on Deontay Wilder and failed to agree on terms with Dillian Whyte initially.
Quizzed on whether he received a 60-40 deal for Joshua v Fury on April 13, Warren fully denied Hearn’s recent claims.
“Certainly not. We’ve never had that offer. No offer has been sent to me,” revealed Warren speaking to Daily Telegraph journalist Gareth A. Davies on Tuesday.
Heres what @frankwarren_tv just told me pic.twitter.com/3Z0bOgN5kC
— Gareth A Davies (@GarethADaviesDT) January 15, 2019
“Hearn went straight to Tyson, but it certainly wasn’t 60-40. It was quite a derisory offer to Tyson, so that’s it. We’ve not even responded to it. It was so derisory.
Asked what it would take for Tyson to sign a deal with Joshua, Warren (???? Mark Robinson) responded bluntly: “50-50. Simple as that.”
Fast running out of time, Hearn is pushing further and further towards the possible scrapping of a Wembley date for Joshua.
Securing the National Stadium back in July, Joshua’s usual early bird habits have failed to come to fruition.
This has put both in a tough spot, with Whyte and Miller remaining firmly in the frame for Joshua’s next fight.
Whispers of Wladimir Klitschko coming out of retirement have been squashed, leaving Joshua and Hearn still scrambling to please Sky Sports Box Office chiefs.
Klitschko was linked to facing Whyte, which would have freed Joshua up to fight Miller in the USA.
Whether Whyte or Miller are acceptable names for the next London date is up in the air, whilst attempts to sway Fury from a rematch with Wilder prove fruitless.
Luis Ortiz and Kubrat Pulev are the only other options open to AJ at this moment in time. Oleksandr Usyk has already ruled out facing Joshua in his first heavyweight bout.
JOSHUA’S REALISTIC OPTIONS:
Dillian Whyte (Wembley)
Jarrell Miller (New York)
Luis Ortiz (UK or US)
Kubrat Pulev (UK)
UNREALISTIC:
Deontay Wilder
Tyson Fury
Wladimir Klitschko
Oleksandr Usyk
