Tony Bellew Slams Plan to Move Joshua vs. Fury to America

Bellew rejected calls to stage Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury in the United States after Eddie Hearn revealed organizers now favor an American venue.

Tony Bellew has criticized plans to move Anthony Joshua’s proposed fight with Tyson Fury to the United States after Eddie Hearn revealed organizers now want the heavyweight showdown staged there. Bellew argued Britain’s biggest heavyweight rivalry should remain in the UK, where he says the sport attracts its strongest crowds and atmosphere.

“We had a meeting the other day with Nick Khan from TKO. Clearly, Turki Alalshikh works with those guys. They all want the fight in America. We’ve been told in the last 24 hours that’s what they want,” said Hearn to DAZN before explaining the current contract specifies Britain as the location. He later said, “If there’s a reason that he and Netflix want this fight to take place in the US, I get it. I think it’s disappointing.”

Bellew wasn’t interested in the commercial argument.

“The difference is these people want the fight to be in the US. That’s the reality of the situation. American boxing’s dead. No one cares. Why are we appealing to America? America don’t care about us. We’ve got the best crowds in the world. We’ve got the most passionate fans in the world. These are the two stalwarts of British boxing. No one cares about America. Why do they need it there?” Bellew said as he repeatedly talked over Hearn during the discussion.