Joshua, Fury To Earn $100m In Heavyweight Showdown

Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Dubai, Qatar, China Battle To Host
A location has finally been confirmed for the all-British showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury later this year, according to the Gypsy King’s legendary promoter Bob Arum.

There has been much clamour for information on the bout, which is being billed as the biggest fight in the history of British boxing – and the destination for the fight is being kept a closely-guarded secret for now.

With Saudi Arabia leading the way, and Singapore, Dubai, Qatar and China all staking their claims, Arum has revealed that a location has been decided, with both fighters set to earn a mammoth $100million (£73m) each, regardless of the result in the ring.

“We have a location, that’s true,’ Arum told Barbershop Conversations. “We have a location and, as far as the date is confirmed, we haven’t zeroed in on a date.

“It could be as late as June because it would give more time to solve the coronavirus problem. By June, most people will be vaccinated, so it’s possible.

“And then we would do the fight, pay-per-view in the UK and pay-per-view early evening in the United States.”

When probed on the money both men will earn as they head into the biggest fight of their lives, 89-year-old Arum said: “The Joshua vs Fury fight will earn each of the guys close to $100m. Each of the guys.

“It is the biggest fight in history in the UK, not even close. Around the world it is the biggest fight that people wanna see.”

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn had previously admitted that the fight won’t take place in the UK because of the coronavirus crisis, with the Middle East being discussed as one of a number of possible destinations.

As exclusively revealed by Sportsmail last week, the latest UK lockdown ruled out any chance of the fight taking place on UK soil, and Singapore has now also emerged as a potential destination.

Joshua has fought there before, avenging his defeat by Andy Ruiz Jr in Diriyah, while Fury has mainly stuck to the UK and the USA in his professional career.

Speaking about the potential of taking the fight to somewhere like Saudi Arabia, Hearn previously told iFL TV: “The government here don’t invest in bringing mega-events to the UK – they don’t necessarily need to.

“They’ve got a Premier League football game every weekend, selling 50,000-80,000 [tickets].

Culled from dailymail.co.uk