Eddie Hearn claims that Anthony Joshua has reached a point of frustration over the seemingly never-ending negotiations for his clash with Tyson Fury.
The two British heavyweights are expected to collide in November, with New York the likely destination, after having completed their respective warm-up fights last month.
For Fury, it was little more than a glorified sparring session as he stopped the 46-year-old Mariusz Wach, banking an additional seven rounds after unanimously outpointing Arslanbek Makhmudov in April.
As for Joshua, his perceived low-risk assignment against Kristian Prenga ended up delivering a mini firefight, courtesy of two knockdowns in the opening round.
After climbing off the canvas, the 36-year-old ultimately stopped his man in the following three minutes, albeit with an unconvincing performance that raised doubts over his punch resistance.
But still, it seems as if the wheels are in motion for Joshua and Fury to finally lock horns, just so long as both sides can overcome a certain stumbling block.
From the perspective of ‘AJ’ and Matchroom promoter Hearn, there is no reason to rehash their original contact, which states that the Fury fight must take place in the UK.
At the same time, though, Hearn has told IFL TV that there is increasing pressure from Netflix to stage the event in New York.
“AJ is adamant that this fight [should take] place in the UK. I keep going back to him, because what happens is: I have these meetings and they [event organisers] say to me, ‘Come on, Eddie. Speak to AJ’.
“I’ve been back to [Joshua] half a dozen times and, in the end, he’s losing his rag. He’s going, ‘Ed, I told you: I want this fight in the UK. That is what we signed for’.”
With Madison Square Garden having been named as the likely venue, Joshua may be forced to return to the scene of his seventh-round stoppage defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019.
