Fury-Joshua contracts exclude Zuffa, Hearn says

Tyson Fury's contract for the Anthony Joshua fight does not lock the bout to a U.K. venue, BoxingScene has learned, though Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn insists his fighter's deal mandates a British location. More significantly, Hearn says both contracts explicitly prohibit Dana White and Zuffa Boxing from any promotional role.

Hearn confirmed Friday at a public weigh-in in Arizona that the agreements run between Fury, Joshua, and Saudi boxing financier Turki Alalshikh. They name Hearn and Frank Warren as the official promoters and spell out Zuffa's exclusion in writing. "Specifically in the contract it says Dana White, Zuffa cannot have any promotional involvement in the show," Hearn told BoxingScene. "Dana doesn't know about the contract for the show that we signed and negotiated."

White's Vegas pitch collides with contractual language

White told reporters last week he would promote the superfight and hinted at a U.S. venue, possibly Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Two boxing officials separately told BoxingScene that Alalshikh floated SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles as an option. Hearn acknowledged a venue change is theoretically possible — "If Turki Alalshikh wants to hold the fight in another country, that's not necessarily a problem" — but said any shift would require fresh negotiations with Joshua's camp, since the existing contract specifies a U.K. location.

Hearn dismissed the idea that Alalshikh, who owns 60 per cent of Zuffa Boxing, can unilaterally insert White into the promotion. "Turki doesn't have to take over the fight. Turki is the fight," Hearn said. "But Zuffa's failing really bad at the moment with the product and they're trying to latch onto this." He suggested White is doubling down publicly rather than admitting he has no formal role.

Joshua faces Kristian Prenga on July 25, while Fury's next tune-up is set for August 1 in Dublin before the heavyweight clash moves forward under the signed framework.

Source: boxingscene.com