By: Sean Crose
WBC and undisputed heavyweight champion of the world Tyson Fury has made it clear that he is ready to fight former WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua before this year is over. Anthony Joshua responded kindly, saying he would be “ready in December”. On Tuesday, Fury took it a step further, offering a 60/40 revenue split with his British counterpart, should they ever meet in the ring. And now Joshua promoter, Eddie Hearn, has considered pointing out iFL television that Fury’s offer might indeed be legitimate, and that Joshua himself approves.
Hearn talks about his initial reaction when Fury called Joshua to leave. However, as Joshua’s promoter, Hearn turned to Joshua and his team, all of whom said Joshua would be open to leaving, if Fury’s offer was legitimate. Now, Hearn claims, both sides have moved on to the next step. “The conversations are pretty productive,” he says iFl TV. “Sixty forty is an offer, as Tyson said. They wanted a rematch clause and they asked for a date in early November.” Even though November is not acceptable to Team Joshua, both Joshua and Hearn will be fine with the fight going on a few weeks later.
“We thought, I think in particular, he (Joshua) deserved over forty percent,” Hearn said, “but he was happy and I didn’t make the decision, he did. So I came back this morning and said we accept 60/40. We want that reversed in a rematch, that’s right… and we want to play in December. And interestingly,” Hearn added, “they hosted Queensbury on December 17th at the Grounds. campaigning for Millennium so it was perfect, perfect for us. “Hearn’s bottom line? “All I can tell you at the moment is we accept 60/40.”
However, Hearn made it clear that while Fury’s proposed 60/40 split is acceptable, there are other things, such as broadcast rights issues, that must be addressed. He also doesn’t appear in the video to be completely sure that Fury and his team are really serious. However, as he puts it: “The conversations are pretty productive.” If the fight really does work, it will be a huge event, especially in the UK, where both men are from. While Fury will most likely be the favorite at this point, Joshua is nothing if not strong and determined.
