Eddie Hearn: Fury-Joshua locked to U.K., Zuffa Boxing shut out

Anthony Joshua's contract for the Tyson Fury superfight mandates a U.K. venue, even though Fury's deal contains no such clause, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.

Hearn told BoxingScene that Joshua's side is locked to the U.K., while Fury's agreement with Saudi financier Turki Alalshikh leaves wiggle room on location. "I don't know what [Fury's contract] says about the venue. I just know what ours says: That, exclusively, the fight must take place in the U.K.," Hearn said Friday in Phoenix.

Zuffa Boxing barred from promotional role despite White's claims

Both fighters signed deals that name Hearn and Frank Warren as promoters of record and explicitly bar Zuffa Boxing from any promotional involvement, per Hearn. That contradicts recent comments from UFC CEO Dana White, who claimed he would promote the bout and hinted it might land outside the U.K. Alalshikh owns 60 per cent of Zuffa Boxing but cannot unilaterally shift the event to Las Vegas or Los Angeles without fresh talks, Hearn said.

Hearn criticized Zuffa's legal disputes with other promoters and dismissed White's public posturing. "Specifically in the contract it says Dana White, Zuffa cannot have any promotional involvement in the show," he said. "Dana doesn't know about the contract for the show that we signed and negotiated."

Fury faces a tune-up August 1 in Dublin, while Joshua meets Kristian Prenga on July 25. If Alalshikh wants to move the Fury clash to a U.S. stadium, a new round of negotiations would have to start from scratch.

Source: boxingscene.com