Hearn reveals Anthony Joshua v Hughie Fury negotiations have collapsed due to money
Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn has revealed that tentative negotiations for a Anthony Joshua v Hughie Fury title fight have broken down due to money issues.
Joshua defends his IBF heavyweight title at the Manchester Arena on November 26th and is still seeking an opponent, while Fury has seen his upcoming fight with Andy Ruiz Jr fall through.
Fury Sr, who also trains heavyweight champion and nephew Tyson, claimed that the ball was in Hearn’s court regarding money, and the English promoter’s offer has seemingly been deemed unacceptable.
Hearn today told IFL TV that “we were not deep in negotiations, I spoke to Peter Fury after the Ruiz fight fell through, I spoke to Mick Hennessy, talked numbers.”
“I thought the numbers that I were talking were huge, and they didn’t. They were after more like the money that probably Anthony Joshua would be making from his fights, probably more like a sixty-forty split of the pot – which for a voluntary challenger is just not going to happen.”
Hearn does not blame Team Fury for rejecting the preliminary offer and explained how “I understand that [rejecting the offer], they’re in a good position, they’re World-ranked, he’s got the Fury name, so they’re not going to dive into a fight like Anthony Joshua unless they really believe they win.”
“If they really believe they can beat him and become World champion then they would accept this deal because you take opportunities like that for a lot of money.”
“We’re miles apart, and right now Joseph Parker is the favourite to meet AJ [on November 26th].”
Watch Eddie Hearn’s interview with IFL TV in full below:
