It has been announced that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are to meet in Saudi Arabia on August 14 for a hotly-anticipated bout.
Fury and Joshua originally agreed financial terms for a two-fight deal last summer, but since then negotiations have moved at a glacial pace. Initial contracts have been signed, but the fight was without a venue until Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, secured a £150m deal with Saudi Arabia.
Doubts were raised earlier this week when Fury commented that his own promoter, Frank Warren, had reservations about the terms of the deal. In a bid to allay any fears, Joshua publicly pushed for a resolution and since then Warren has appeared on TalkSport to clarify exactly what Fury meant.
“It definitely won’t be on August 7 because that’s when the Olympic games are on and that’s gonna be a problem for TV,” Warren told TalkSport. “Besides that, you’ve got a UFC PPV in the States and UK so if it goes on, it’ll be on August 14. I don’t think the date is the problem at all, I think everyone’s agreed that can be moved to August 14.”
“What we’re all trying to do is get this over the line, but the only way we’ll get it over the line is by the fighter, Tyson, getting certain assurances,” he added. “If he gets them, he’ll put pen to paper, but as it is now, he’s waiting for the other side’s lawyers to confirm what he wants. We want the fight, everybody wants the fight, for once Eddie Hearn and I agree that we have a common aim here. But it hasn’t been signed, I don’t know why he’s saying it has been signed.
“There have to be assurances given and confirmation given that Tyson is happy with. It’s no different to if it were a footballer going to a football club, he would want certain assurances. His lawyers would look at the contract and his lawyers would want certain assurances that the promises of what’s in the contract is backed up by guarantees, it’s as simple as that.”
However, despite all of that, Warren is confident the fight will go ahead and seems determined to make it happen.
“It will be there [in Saudi Arabia] if the contract is signed, if Tyson’s wishes are met with what he wants to be assured,” he said. “I really do feel there’s a way forward on this, I do feel having spoken with one of the principles there that he desperately wants to do this deal. But as I say there’s just a couple of things that need to be addressed and I’m quite sure we’ll get them addressed and get it over the line and we can get it on.”
