Are you holding your breath? Eddie Hearn says he is confident a date, as well as a venue for the massive, all-British heavyweight unification fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, will be announced next week. “I think the end of next week it will be done,” the promoter said. This was swiftly followed by a message from John Fury, father of the reigning WBC and lineal heavyweight champ, who told Hearn to “put up or shut up.” Fury Sr wants the fight signed, sealed and delivered, no ifs ands or buts. So will Hearn prove to be correct, and will the super-fight get officially confirmed next week? Let’s hope so.
However, with plenty of fight fans, it’s a case of, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ We’ve heard too many times before now how we are, “on the verge of announcing the fight,” and how the fight is, “just days away.” Maybe this time it will prove to be true, but not everyone is convinced. The venue the fight will go ahead at is perhaps the most intriguing factor; as well as the deciding factor. Hearn has been out on a “world tour,” looking at the various venues wishing to host the mega-event. As per reports, Hearn has engaged in talks with money men out in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Dubai, while there is also said to be interest from Singapore, China and America. It’s doubtful the fight between two British fighters will go ahead in Britain, yet Wembley Stadium has not been completely ruled out.
“The word tour is going well but I’m not answering any questions on that and I won’t tell you where I’ve been,” Hearn said yesterday as quoted by The Daily Mail.
Meanwhile, Joshua has started training camp and Fury is looking to be in fantastic physical condition. If this fight is not officially over the line soon, fight fans will be extremely annoyed. It simply has to happen and there is exasperation as to why it has taken this long to get done. Both fighters want it, the world wants it, the money offers are there – so why are we waiting? Hearn says “there is no other fight out there that comes close for either guy.”
“July is the date,” Hearn added.
So let’s wait and see if the exact date and venue are indeed officially announced next week. If this doesn’t prove to be the case, well, fight fans everywhere will be up in arms. Was there ever a time when the putting together of a big, big fight proved to be a far more simple affair? It certainly does seem to be a more complicated thing to do these days. But if massive fights such as Ali-Foreman, Lewis-Tyson and (eventually) Mayweather-Pacquiao were able to be made, then Fury-Joshua should get done also. It should never be this complicated.