By Sean Nam
September 18, 2022
Source: Boxing Scene
Photo Source: Boxing Scene
Promoter Frank Warren is confident that one of the biggest hurdles in modern-day boxing business negotiations will be surmounted as it concerns the negotiations for a British super fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Barely a week after Joshua’s team told Warren’s Queensberry Promotions that their charge had agreed to all the terms laid out by Fury, the WBC titlist, Warren expressed optimism that a deal could be reached. Warren, admittedly, has not had a great relationship with Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, but their usual vitriol seemingly has been put to the side for the sake of diplomacy.
Currently, it appears Warren is waiting for Hearn’s Matchroom to come back with a response to the drafted contract. Joshua agreed to fight Fury on Dec. 3 in Cardiff, Wales. Joshua also agreed to take the lower end of a 60-40 purse split. A key dilemma, however, is the question of which broadcaster gets to air what would be one of the biggest heavyweight fights in recent memory. Fury is tied to BT in the UK and ESPN in the United States, while Joshua is exclusively tied to DAZN. Network exclusivity contracts have often been a barrier to making cross-promotional fights in the contemporary boxing business. Asked to comment on that Gordian knot, Warren said he expects all parties to behave appropriately and arrive at some kind of compromise.
“Both boxers have agreements with broadcasters and everybody is going to have a grownup conversation and make it work,” Warren told SecondsOut.com.
Warren, however, sounded generally optimistic that a deal can be reached because most of the important terms have been agreed to by Joshua.
“I’m not going to get into the details of the contract,” Warren said. “Let them look at the contract. They may or may not have any points to make about it. But the terms, the most important terms, the percentages, if there is a rematch that percentage is agreed, and the date is agreed. The rest of it I’m sure will get sorted out because everybody wants it to happen" Joshua is coming off a points loss to WBA, WBO, and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch last month in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Fury is coming off a successful defense of his WBC title in the spring with a stoppage of countryman Dillian Whyte. Fury originally called out Usyk to an undisputed fight to take place by the end of the year but shifted his focus to Joshua after Usyk stated that he did not want to fight until sometime next year.
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