Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn told ESPN that Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have agreed to fight twice in 2021. Of course, there is “no signed contract yet, with the first fight likely to happen in the summer” of 2021.
There were no venues or dates announced although it appears that the first fight will happen next summer. Hearn, who promotes Joshua, said the two sides can now finalize the details of the fights.
The two wrinkles in this story is that Fury has to fight Deontay Wilder next as the former heavyweight champion exercised his clause for a rematch with Fury. Wilder lost for the first time at the hands of Fury this past February.
The second issue is that Joshua, who defeated Andy Ruiz last year to gain the WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion had a mandatory bout with Kubrat Pulev. The fight was scheduled for June but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Assuming that both fighters defeat their respective opponents, the two will face each other in 2021 in what should be one of the biggest heavyweight championship events in the modern day history of the sport.
Payout Perspective:
Obviously if either Fury or Joshua falter prior to their scheduled showdown in 2021, the stakes would be less. If they do go without another loss prior to their first fight, it will do tremendous business. One would expect the fight to happen in Wales or the U.K. as both fighters are from the region.
Leave a Reply