"Both fighters owe the UK fans this tremendous event at Wembley or Cardiff, rather than taking it to a foreign country," says Tyson Fury's US-based promoter Bob Arum on the dream fight against Anthony Joshua
Wednesday 28 July 2021 12:19, UK
Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury remains "an easy fight to make" for next year and could be rearranged to take place in the UK, says promoter Bob Arum.
Joshua will next defend his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles against Oleksandr Usyk, live on Sky Sports Box Office on September 25, before Fury meets Deontay Wilder in a WBC title fight on October 9.
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn told talkSPORT this week "February is realistic" to finally stage the undisputed championship mega-fight that dramatically fell apart this summer.
Fury's US-based promoter Arum has now exclusively told Sky Sports: "The problem with Eddie? He cannot stop talking.
"When he says February? He is saying the fight will happen next year which is clearly correct.
"Joshua is fighting in September, we are fighting in October. Obviously [Joshua vs Fury] will take place next year.
"But February, March or April? That remains to be seen."
Joshua and Fury had both agreed to hold the generation-defining collision in Saudi Arabia this year but Arum now wants them to have a change of heart.
"My hope is that the fight goes to the UK," he said. "I don't care what the money is.
"Both fighters owe the UK fans this tremendous event at Wembley or Cardiff, rather than taking it to a foreign country."
The dream undisputed heavyweight title fight was dashed when a judge ruled that Fury must instead grant a third WBC title fight to Wilder, who he dismantled when they last met.
Joshua will instead take on Usyk, his WBO mandatory challenger, who sits at the front of queue of challengers who could also become potential hurdles to crowning the division's true No 1.
But Arum said: "My position is: if Fury and Joshua win, screw any mandatories!
"Fury vs Joshua is the fight that people want to see. Period. End of story.
"That is an easy fight to make. It is not a hard fight to make.
"We had the fight rolling. The central elements had been taken care of.
"There were no problems, really, on the deal.
"Why did the deal stall and not get finalised? In my opinion, overreaching.
"We were all in line: 'OK, do the fight in Saudi Arabia'.
"If we had struck a deal with the Saudis, the arbitrator would not have [ruled for Fury to fight Wilder instead].
"He would have allowed [Joshua vs Fury] to happen, and he would have given damages to Wilder.
"But there was no deal with the Saudis.
"That's what happened. It won't happen again.
"Before we negotiate outside of the UK, we will have strict rules as to who is part of the negotiating team."
Joshua told Gary Neville's The Overlap, when asked if he respects Fury: "I don't know. I like [former opponent] Wladimir Klitschko, he's cool.
"I don't know. I don't look at anyone in my industry like that. They are just people that I want to fight.
"I haven't got no time for none of them. I'm not friends with no one. They are all enemies at the end of the day."
