Hearn: Joshua vs. Fury Wembley fight talks back on

Negotiations to stage a fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury at Wembley Stadium in London have reopened, promoter Eddie Hearn has said, ESPN reports.

Both fighters had signed a contract with Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh agreeing to fight each other.

However, negotiations had stalled in recent weeks due to a dispute about the location of the fight. Joshua’s contract explicitly stated that the fight had to take place in the UK.

However, Saudi promotion company Sela and Netflix had indicated to Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn they preferred to take place in the United States to maximise the global broadcast audience.

It had appeared that Madison Square Garden in New York would host the fight in November. But, on Friday, Hearn said talks were again underway to have the event at Wembley.

“I want to thank everyone for the unbelievable support!” Hearn wrote in a post on social media.

“You have been heard and talks have now re-opened for Wembley.

“Let’s make history with one of the biggest sporting moments [Britain] has ever seen.”

Fury had indicated he was prepared to fight anywhere.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said this week Hearn had approached him for help in bringing the fight to the English capital.

“Both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua recognise the importance of British boxing fans,” Khan said. “The promoters know we’re here to help. We’ve approached those in the know to say we’re here to help.

“Eddie Hearn has approached us and we’re keen to work with Eddie and the team. I understand the temptation of going to Madison Square Garden, of the money on offer, but the fans are here.

“We’ve been loyal to Tyson and Anthony. We love them both and we’d love to see them box here in London.”

Khan has pleaded with the promoters of the potential fight to host the event in the United Kingdom.

Fury and Joshua both signed an agreement with Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh earlier this year to fight each other. While they both came through final tune-up bouts in July, negotiations have been at a near stand-still in recent weeks due to a conflict about the location of the bout.

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn last month sent an addendum to Saudi promotion company Sela with fresh requests in exchange for agreeing to fight in the United States, where Sela and broadcaster Netflix would prefer the event to take place.

Hearn has insisted they are still battling for the fight to be in the UK and now Mayor Khan has said he wants to see the event in Britain.

“I’m a big boxing fan, as you know,” Khan told Sky Sports. “We’ve hosted some of the biggest boxing events in history in London during my mayoralty. Many British fans are fans of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Many Londoners love both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

“Both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua recognise the importance of British boxing fans. The promoters know we’re here to help. We’ve approached those in the know to say we’re here to help.

“We’ve been loyal to Tyson and Anthony. We love them both and we’d love to see them box here in London.”

Hearn said this week negotiations are ongoing, but time is “running out” if the fight is to take place in November.

Fury said on Thursday he was prepared to move on from the fight if a deal wasn’t done soon.

“There’s nothing I can do. I can’t make a coward fight, can I?” Fury said on social media.

“I’ve been waiting 10 years for this and been ready every time. One thing I won’t be doing is wasting my later years with a freak who doesn’t want to fight. So I will move on. There’s plenty of world champions out there who do want to fight, who do want to make some money, so I’ll be giving them a knock.

“Agit Kabayel, [Filip] Hrgovic, Daniel Dubois. Whoever else there is. They can fight me in November because this is going nowhere.”