By Robert Addams: Eddie Hearn is ready to offer the winner of the February 22 rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury a 50-50 split to fight Anthony Joshua. But before Matchroom promoter Hearn can do that, he says he’ll need Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) to give him the green light.
Hearn says he personally still believes that Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) and Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) don’t deserve an even 50-50 split for a fight against IBF/WBA/WBO champion Joshua, but he knows that the only way the fight will take place is if he offers the Wilder-Fury 2 winner a 50-50 split.
Hearn says that a fight between Joshua and Wilder would be the biggest fight in heavyweight boxing history, but he’s not certain he can negotiate it Eddie says he isn’t able to talk with Wilder or his management as easily as he is with Fury, and that’s why believes that would be a much easier fight to make.
Wilder and Fury’s profiles have been raised since 2018
“The priority for AJ is to fight the winner of that fight,” said Hearn to secondsout about Joshua wanting the winner of the February 22 rematch between Wilder and Fury. “He doesn’t want to fight the loser of that fight. Perhaps, he’ll fight Wilder win, lose or draw.
“A year ago, Fury and Wilder were making a 10th or 15th of what Joshua was making,” Hearn continued. “Joshua was undefeated, he had 4 belts, he was the clear King of the division. These guys [Wilder and Fury] were both offered 60/40, which I felt at the time was the most generous deal that could possibly be offered to them.
“They both wanted 50-50, and the answer was, ‘Sorry, NO,'” said Hearn in saying that Wilder and Fury didn’t deserve a 50-50 deal against Joshua last year. “Fast forward 12 months, you got Joshua losing, but recapturing the belts. In my opinion, going to a new level. But you’ve got Fury and Wilder who have fought each other, whose profiles have been considerably raised in the U.S,” said Hearn.
It’s easy to see why Joshua did not get the fight with Wilder of Fury last year, given that Hearn was offering them a 40% cut against Joshua. It was initially a lot worse than that for Wilder, who Hearn offered a flat fee of $12 million. That’s around the same ballpark figure that Andy Ruiz Jr. recently got for his fight against Joshua on December 7th in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua is rumored to have gotten $70 million for the fight. You can imagine that if Wilder had agreed to the $12 million, Joshua’s purse would have been even bigger than $70 million.
Hearn: Wilder and Fury still don’t deserve a 50-50 split with Joshua
“When things change, I’m big enough to say things have changed,” said Hearn in discussing his change of opinion in regards to Fury and Wilder deserving an even purse split with Joshua. “You got Fury doing the WWE, and Fury beating Wilder the first time out, you got Wilder knocking out [Luis] Ortiz and [Dominic] Breazeale, and looking sensational. So in my opinion,
“I still don’t think they’re worth 50-50, but I can say see the argument. But it’s getting to the stage where they’ll only take the fight at a 50-50. That’s an AJ decision. That’s not an Eddie Hearn decision. ‘Just to let you know, it’s a 50-50. It’s done, and it’s on. ‘This is it, AJ. This is the only way we’re going to make the fight is if we give them 50-50. What do you want to do?’
“I don’t want to put words in his mouth, because he’s his own boss,” said Hearn about Joshua. “But in my opinion, he wants those fights so badly, that’ll probably be the deal,” said Hearn.
If Hearn tells Joshua that he doesn’t think Wilder and Fury deserve a 50-50 split, then he might listen to him and choose to come with a 55-45 or 60-40 split. In that case, Joshua probably won’t get the fight against the winner. However, Hearn said this week that Joshua will fight Fury whether he wins or loses. So maybe if Fury is knocked out by Wilder, Hearn can get him to face Joshua at a 60-40 split. Fury won’t be in a position to dictate terms if he’s coming off of a knockout loss to Wilder.
Deontay’s punching power makes him the likely winner over Fury in their rematch on February 22.
Wilder vs. Joshua is the BIGGEST fight ever – Hearn
“I must say the winner of that fight DOES deserve 50-50, but they never did at the time,” said Hearn in talking about the Wilder vs. Fury rematch. “It wasn’t even close back then, but things change. We need each other, let’s be honest.
“I think if Wilder wins that fight, Wilder vs. AJ is the biggest fight EVER in the sport. EVER,” said Hearn. “It’s the undisputed world heavyweight championship between two guys, a little bit, punch like f— both of them, both as fast as they come, both with huge personalities in different ways.
“They look great, and great talkers,” Hearn said about Joshua and Wilder. “That’s a fight that transcends the sport, so we need each other. Whoever wins. We just feel with AJ’s comments during the week, I feel like I can phone Fury, and he can phone me. We f— around with each other, he slags me off, I slag him off.
“I have a huge amount of respect for him,” Hearn said of Fury. “He’s a great fighter. I can phone him. We don’t have that same link up with Wilder. I think Wilder would never talk to me, and I can’t even get with his people, let alone with Deontay Wilder. And that’s why I feel like and AJ feels like, a fight with Fury happens, maybe not like that, but certainly a lot quicker, but we’ll see what happens,” said Hearn.
Wilder vs. Joshua probably will be the biggest fight in heavyweight history. If they stage it in an accessible place like Las Vegas or New York, it would be even bigger. Hearn likely won’t do that though, because Joshua froze mentally the last time he fought in the U.S last June against Andy Ruiz Jr.
