Bob Arum says there have been no talks yet about a megafight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, despite a media frenzy to the contrary during the last week.
On Thursday The Athletic’s boxing insider Mike Coppinger claimed talks were ongoing about Deontay Wilder stepping aside from his contractual right to a third fight against Fury later this year. Joshua meanwhile is due to face Bulgarian mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev.
And 24 hours after that Coppinger report, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said there have been multiple offers from sites outside the UK to stage the fight.
Arum on Fury vs Joshua latest
Arum, CEO of Top Rank – who promote Fury along with Frank Warren – has poured just a little water on that fire of speculation though by saying “nothing is concrete at all”.
He told World Boxing News: “At this moment there are no talks possible, nothing concrete between Fury and Joshua. We can’t do anything until MTK Global (Fury’s management) gets a firm offer from the site. All we know is what’s being reported but nothing is concrete at all. We have to wait.”
In an earlier interview with WBN, Arum had again raised the complicated logistics of making a Fury vs Joshua fight in the very near future with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to wreak havoc on the sporting calendar.
“We’re going to have to figure out whether Eddie has the angle to do a Joshua vs Pulev fight. I don’t think he can do it without an audience. Does he move it to some other place? Where can it be made, where could it take place?
“There was a lot of talk about a Fury vs Joshua fight taking place in Saudi Arabia, but with oil selling at almost zero a barrel, how are the Saudis going to afford a big event?
“But for Fury, except for a Joshua fight, any Tyson Fury fight happens in the United States. The Joshua fight I could possibly see being in the UK or maybe some Middle East location. But we’ll have to see. Again, Joshua still has a contract and obligation to fight Pulev, so how’s he going to get around that?”
