Eddie Hearn denies Tyson Fury could fight Deontay Wilder instead of Anthony Joshua

Eddie Hearn has dismissed talk of Tyson Fury walking away from a £200million showdown with Anthony Joshua to face Deontay Wilder in a trilogy fight.

Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum is frustrated by the delays in agreeing on a venue and date for the Joshua clash and says the Gypsy King may fight Wilder instead.

Hearn says that would be “a nothing fight” and insists he can get Joshua-Fury over the line.

“Bob is trying to put pressure on, that’s how he works,” the Matchroom chief told Mirror Fighting .

“He will think it’s a bit slow now, give an interview thinking it will speed up the Middle East. We don’t need to play that game, everybody’s on board, let’s just go through the process correctly.

Tyson Fury stopped Deontay Wilder last year (Image: REUTERS) Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles

“Time is of the essence and if we got into a situation where the site agreement wasn’t signed in less than a week, we would have to start looking at things.

“But no-one has a plan B, which is a good sign. Bob may talk about Tyson fighting Wilder, but he ain’t going to fight Wilder, it’s a nothing fight.

“I don’t have other plans, normally I have plan A, B and C, but it’s all about this fight and it will happen.”

The showdown is likely to take place in Saudi Arabia between July 24 and early August and Hearn says he is finalising the site agreement.

“We had a situation where all the parties signed a contract,” he said. “We went out and got a fantastic site deal and both fighters agreed to the financials, the site deal, everything.

“Now what is taking longer than expected is we’re back and forth just finalising the long form site agreement.

“It’s frustrating because you look on social media and read comments like ‘what’s the hold-up? You’re a joke’.

“It’s not a case of that’ll do, just sign it. You’ve got Fury’s people, which is a team of about 40 people, you’ve got the site, you’ve got the broadcasters around it. It’s a massive deal, but we will get there.

“I won’t stop until we get it over the line. If it falls through, it won’t be any fault of ours and I don’t think it will.

“It’s too big, both guys want it too much, just got to keep pushing and pushing.”

Hearn is frustrated by the lack of help from Fury’s side, but says that just makes him more determined.

“I’m getting no help, I’m a one-man army going out to try and make this fight,” he said. “I won’t give in and I know I’m going to do it.

“I could have given up a hundred times on this fight, and it just would have fallen away because there is no-one else pushing it.

“I feel like all the pressure is on me to make this fight and I want that because that’s how I know I will make this fight.”

* Eddie Hearn was speaking to promote Vodafone’s #ThoseWhoDare virtual conference on May 17 when he will be sharing his advice on managing a successful business. As part of Vodafone’s ambition to support SMEs, the week-long event will feature keynotes from over 30 dynamic and game-changing entrepreneurs. Register your attendance here.