Eddie Hearn explains WHY Joshua’s fights won’t be in UK

By Boxing News - 01/30/2020 - Comments

By Charles Brun: British fans can pretty much forget about seeing their homegrown star Anthony Joshua fighting in the UK for any of his big fights from this point on. AJ will continue to fight where he can get the most money, and that’s not in the UK.

Even Joshua’s simple title defense against a seemingly over-matched Kubrat Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) will likely take place outside of the UK, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.

Eddie sounds defensive in justifying why Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) won’t be fighting in the UK for any of his interesting matches against Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder.

Tyson Fury won’t take smaller money to fight in UK

“Some of the comments I’ve had, ‘These guys don’t need to make money. They’ve got enough money. Surely they’d take one-third to do it in England,'” said Hearn to IFL TV in recalling what a fan told him on a potential future Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight. “Do you understand the dynamics of this fight? When we make this fight, do you think I say, ‘Tyson, Anthony, just to let you know, the deal is done.

“We go to Saudi. No, I go to both teams,” said Hearn. “Anything with the smallest brain in their heads is going to know generally an athlete, particularly a fighter, is going to be most interested in the option with the most money on the table. It’s not the be all and end all, but when it’s double, when it’s triple, the biggest defining fight of their career, what do you think they’re going to do?

“It’s not even about AJ. I’m not saying that AJ won’t want to go where the money is,” said Hearn in explaining why Joshua vs. Fury can’t take place in the UK. “What do you think Tyson Fury is going to say?” said Hearn.

Fury seems to be money focused at this point in his career. He’s gotten a big taste with his huge contract with Top Rank and ESPN, and he’s not going to be agreeable to fighting Joshua in the UK for less money than he can make in places like Saudi Arabia.

Wilder won’t want to fight Joshua in UK

“What do you think Deontay Wilder is going to say? We tried to get Wilder in the UK, and it wasn’t happening,” said Hearn. “Fury has had his last 4 fights in the U.S. Why aren’t you saying to him, ‘You deserting the UK fans.’ He hasn’t boxed in England. He doesn’t want to box in England,” said Hearn.

Deontay (42-0-1, 41 KOs) wouldn’t want to fight Joshua in the UK even if the fight did generate more money there than anywhere else. You can’t blame Wilder for not wanting to risk getting poor officiating, because Joshua has been involved in some unusual fights when competing in the UK.

For example, Joshua’s fight against Joseph Parker in 2018 involved a referee that didn’t allow inside fighting. He kept the action on the outside, and that made it easy for AJ to win.

Fury still has to beat Wilder for there to be a reason for the Joshua-Fury fight to take place in 2020 or 2021. If Wilder knocks Fury out on February 22, then there’s no point in discussing a fight between AJ and The Gypsy King.

Fury just wants to box where the money is – Hearn

“He just wants to box where the money is,” said Hearn about Fury. “Why is that so difficult to understand? Would I like that fight in Wembley? I would LOVE that fight in Wembley. Should it be in Wembley? Yes. Will it be in Wembley? Unlikely because now you have other players now that are willing to pay 3 to 4 times as much that can be generated in the UK.

“How is that difficult to understand?” said Hearn. “When someone says to me, ‘Tell the fighters that they should do it in London, and tell them to forget about money because they’ve got enough already.’ That’s the most ridiculous comment. Joshua and Fury would rather do that fight in Wembley.

“Yes. There is an element where they would take less to do it there, but there will come a point where both guys will look at it and say, ‘I can’t,’ and that’s what I was trying to say in an interview,” said Hearn on Fury and Joshua possibly taking less money to fight in England. “But maybe I’ll just keep my mouth shut, and lie to you. I’m just telling you the truth. You know how the world works, and you know how the game works,” said Hearn.

In a perfect world, Fury would readily agree to fight Joshua in the UK to please the fans, and they would then stage the match at Wembley Stadium. However, that’s not the way that Fury thinks. He’s going to want to get top dollar for the risky fight against Joshua, and he won’t be happy to throw away millions of dollars in what he could make fighting him in the Middle East.

British fans not happy with Joshua and Fury fighting outside of country

“I told someone, ‘I think that fight will probably take place in Saudi Arabia.’ ‘Oh wow, really?’ ‘Yeah, really.’ I don’t deny,” said Hearn in continuing on Joshua-Fury.” You know that, don’t you? Do you think I’m going to tell Tyson Fury where he’s fighting? He and his team will decide where he’s fighting. Anthony Joshua and his team [will decide].

“I’m just telling you. If I told Tyson Fury, ‘There’s 2 offers on the table. You can make $40 million in the UK or $100 million or something to fight in Saudi?’ And he goes, ‘Why are you even asking me? Book the flight tickets.’ And I went, ‘I spoke to AJ, and he said no, because he wants to do it in England,” said Hearn. “So you’ve got to do it in England. ‘And he says, ‘What do you mean?’ What do you think he would say? It’s frightening.

“I replied to a few DMs. ‘They should be fighting for nothing.’ You work your whole life to get what you deserve your worth,” Hearn said. “So under no circumstances should you work under your market value. Fury hasn’t even won yet. But Wilder definitely ain’t going to come to England,” said Hearn.

You’ve got to feel bad for the British boxing fans, as they backed Joshua since he turned pro in 2013. Now instead of repaying his loyal British fans by fighting at home, Joshua is looking to enrich himself to the hilt by fighting in countries that are paying him top dollar. While some of Joshua’s UK fans have the means to travel to see him fight in places like Saudi Arabia, many do not.

Hearn: Joshua never wanted to box abroad

“Comments that were made 2 years ago are very different from comments that are made now,” said Hearn on Joshua. “Back then, we almost had Wilder on the hook for $15 million or $20 million. Now he wants 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 [million]. It can’t be generated, and it’s impossible. Back then we were making offers, which is probably why we didn’t get the deal done.

“If we had Saudi, we would have gotten the fight made back then,” said Hearn. “But it wasn’t. So would you rather see the fight happen or would you rather me try to get it in the UK, and have no chance of it happening. AJ never wanted to box abroad. We could never get the right opponent for Wembley in the summer of last year. The Jarrell Miller fight was coming up, he was fighting in Madison Square Garden.

“I felt like it was time for him to make his American debut,” Hearn said on Joshua. “He was alright for it. We were prepared to fight in the UK. The Ruiz fight came. He accepted half this money to take this fight in the UK rather than Madison Square Garden . That fight was made for Cardiff. He’d already made his decisions.

“Andy Ruiz said, ‘I’m not coming to London,” said Hearn about Ruiz not being interested in fighting Joshua in UK for their rematch last December. “Saudi then came in with 4 times what AJ would have made in the UK. He has said more often than not that he wants it in the UK,” said Hearn.

If Joshua had it his way, he would surely fight in the UK each time, but how can he turn his back on the extra dollars countries are willing to pay him abroad? He can’t and he won’t. It’s as simple as that.

Eddie not in position to tell Wilder or Fury to fight in UK

“Again, with Pulev, he says to me, ‘Eddie, please make that fight in the UK, and that’s what I’m trying to do,” said Hearn. “But also understand, what do you think in a split scenario with Pulev, what do you think Pulev is saying? “Oh, AJ wants to do it in the UK? Blessed, good.’ What do you think he’s saying? ‘No, I want to go where it can make the most money. But in this instance, we’re having to say to Pulev, ‘Sorry, it’s in the UK or you might lose the fight.’

“Are we prepared to lose the Wider fight or the Fury fight just to stand firm, and say, ‘UK, UK.’ We did that last time,” said Hearn. “You’ve got to be real. It’s life, it’s business. This is the truth you hear from me. So when you listen to my videos, you have to understand that sometimes you’re going to hear things that you don’t like. But if you don’t want to hear things that you don’t like, then don’t press play on an Eddie Hearn interview.

“Because I’ve been in this business for so long, 10 years,” said Hearn. “I can’t be bothered to lie to you. And I can’t be bothered to spin stories. The reality is that a fighter is going to go where the most money is. Just like when you’re trying to sign a fighter. They might like me over someone else. If there’s more money with someone else, then they’re going to go with someone else 9 times out of 10,” said Hearn.

It goes without saying that Hearn can’t force Fury or Wilder to fight Joshua in the UK. When push comes to shove, Hearn will be wanting Joshua’s fights to make the most money possible, because that’s got to be a good thing for him as well.

Hearn prefers Joshua vs. Fury fight in UKĀ 

I have a job to do for my client to give them the most money possible, and to give them the clearest strategy to achieve success, longevity and to make as much money in this game as possible,” said Hearn. “I’m not doing my job unless I’m bringing those opportunities, and I’ll lose my clients. If I say no to all these other people.

“The Saudi fight with Ruiz ended up being one, ground breaking, #2 financially rewarding, and everything worked out perfectly. So in that sense, boxes ticked,” Hearn said. “Just like you have to deliver, I’ve got to deliver as well. I’ve got a job to do for my fighters. If I don’t do a good job for my fighters, I’ll lose my fighters, and I won’t have the credibility, and I won’t have the name and the success I’m having.

“I am a fan of the sport, and I would love every fight to take place in the UK, but life don’t work that way. But you can be reassured that we will do everything we can to see that fight [Joshua vs. Fury] in the UK. But I’m just telling you, I don’t see it here,” said Hearn.

What Hearn is saying is pretty clear. UK fans can forget about Joshua fighting in Britain anytime soon. With other countries willing to pay more to see Joshua fight, even against non-stars like Pulev, it’s difficult to picture a scenario where one of his fights will take place in the UK.

Joshua and Pulev receive extension for negotiations

“So we extended the deadline again yesterday. We’re getting very close,” said Hearn on the Joshua vs. Pulev negotiations. “Again, the same thing. We’ve told Pulev, ‘We want that fight in the UK.’ Do you understand, Joshua will probably make three times less for the Pulev fight to do it in the UK? But he does feel that after being in New York and Saudi, that he should come home and fight, and he wants to fight in front of the UK fans.

Hearn sounds upbeat about him being able to get the negotiations completed soon for the Joshua-Pulev fight. The way that Hearn is talking, Pulev isn’t going to be agreeable to fight for less money in the UK. Joshua might want to bring the fight back home to the UK, but Pulev probably isn’t going to want to go along with that.