Joshua willing to concede 60/40 prize money split in favour of Tyson Fury
Joshua willing to concede 60/40 prize money split in favour of Tyson Fury
Promoter Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua 26-3 (23) will be deserving of a 50/50 purse split with Tyson Fury 33-0-1 (24) if he defeats Deontay Wilder 43-2-1 (42).
But the Matchroom Boxing boss concedes that they would accept a 60/40 offer from the WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Joshua, 33, stopped late replacement Robert Helenius 32-5 (21) in the seventh round in London earlier this month. It is now widely expected that he will face big punching former WBC champion Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia in January.
Meanwhile,
Fury, 35, will face boxing debutant and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on October 28.
Fury and Joshua have long been linked to a mouthwatering all-British showdown but negotiations have fallen apart over the years for various reasons. As of right now, the bout seems as far away as ever.
But Hearn won’t give up on the fight that would see two of the best big men of the past 10 years share the square circle.
“If [Joshua] beats Wilder, I think the fight becomes 50/50 [with Fury], but Fury as champion, 60/40 at the moment is fair,” Hearn told Boxing Social.
“But, don’t forget when AJ was champion and Fury wasn’t he said he would only take the fight at 50/50. But we’re prepared to take 60/40, which has kind of been agreed ultimately.”
Before that can happen, Joshua will need to get past the 37-year-old Wilder. That is no easy task. With a knockout ratio of 98%, the heavy-hitting American is dangerous every second of every round.
“Our intention is to fight Deontay Wilder next,” Hearn said. “Those conversations have got to progress in a manner that means we get the fight done.
“There’s no other fight and no other opponent that we’re looking at other than Deontay Wilder.
“But, the one thing that AJ’s really enjoying is activity. So if we can’t fight Deontay Wilder, I think he will fight in December. But for us, there’s only one conversation, which is Deontay Wilder.”
Hearn took the opportunity to question Wilder’s level of opposition.
“I cannot believe how highly people rate Deontay Wilder. He’s never beaten a top-five heavyweight,” Hearn said.
“Luis Ortiz is his best win – he was getting smashed in the first fight, he was 7-0 down in the second fight. He’s never beaten an elite heavyweight.”
Despite this, Hearn has previously admitted the Wilder fight will be a difficult one for Joshua. That is something that heavyweight contender Daniel ‘Dynamite’ Dubois 19-1 (18) agrees with. England’s Dubois, 25, will challenge WBA, WBO, and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk 20-0 (13) at Stadion Wroclaw in Wroclaw, Poland on August 26.
“Right now, based on their past performances, you’d say Wilder,” Dubois said to Boxing News.
“Styles make fights in boxing. We’ll see, let the best man win.”
