Tyson Fury contract allows Joshua fight outside U.K., Hearn says

Tyson Fury's signed contract to face Anthony Joshua does not require the bout to take place in the United Kingdom, BoxingScene has learned, though Joshua's deal explicitly locks the superfight to a U.K. venue.

Eddie Hearn, who promotes Joshua, confirmed the discrepancy. "I don't know what [Fury's contract] says about the venue," Hearn told BoxingScene after Friday's weigh-in for Jesse Rodriguez's bantamweight title defense against Antonio Vargas. "I just know what ours says: That, exclusively, the fight must take place in the U.K."

Hearn says Zuffa Boxing excluded from promotional role

Both fighters have signed deals with Saudi boxing financier Turki Alalshikh and events company Sela for tune-up bouts — Fury faces an opponent August 1 in Dublin, Joshua meets Kristian Prenga on July 25 — before their clash. Those contracts name Hearn and England's Frank Warren as the promoters of record and specifically bar Zuffa Boxing, the Dana White-led venture that Alalshikh owns 60 per cent of, from any promotional involvement.

White told reporters last week he will promote the bout and hinted it might leave the U.K. Hearn said two boxing officials floated SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles as a possible venue, while Hearn himself speculates Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium could be in play. "If Turki Alalshikh wants to hold the fight in another country, that's not necessarily a problem, but contractually he cannot do that," Hearn said. "So we'd have to go through a new process, start a new negotiation and make sure that's good with Anthony Joshua."

Hearn pushed back on White's public claims. "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." Hearn added that Zuffa could try to insert itself through venue discussions but cannot unilaterally assume the promotional role. "Zuffa's failing really bad at the moment with the product and they're trying to latch onto this," he said.

Joshua fights Prenga on July 25, with Fury's Dublin date set for August 1.

Source: boxingscene.com