Eddie Hearn may have secured Anthony Joshua’s preferred country for the Tyson Fury fight, but Roy Jones Jr. believes the Matchroom promoter has damaged his position with the people controlling boxing’s richest events.
Joshua and Fury had agreed to fight November 20 at Madison Square Garden. Hearn resisted the New York venue because Joshua’s contract required the contest to take place in Britain. The heavyweight clash is now likely to land at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on December 11.
That gives Hearn a victory he can sell to the British public, but the reported 2 a.m. local start removes much of its meaning. Seventy thousand paying spectators may be asked to remain inside the stadium until early morning so Netflix can show the fight during American prime time.
If Jones is correct that American viewers have little interest in Fury–Joshua, the compromise becomes harder to defend. Britain provides the crowd, ticket money and atmosphere while the broadcast schedule caters to an audience that Jones says does not care.
Jones applauded Hearn for resisting the combined pressure from Turki Alalshikh, Sela, Netflix, Dana White, TKO and Team Fury. He also offered a much darker forecast for Matchroom.
“Hearn has won a battle, but he’s gonna lose the war. I just think it’s because Turki has enough money to do whatever he wants to do. Whoever has his ear is gonna win the war, because he’s got the money to keep it going. But my hat goes off to Eddie for fighting, because Eddie knows that war is not the best thing for boxing,” Jones told Parimatch Slots Site, via BoxingScene.
The concern reaches beyond a disagreement over one venue. Alalshikh has the financial resources to outlast any traditional promoter. If he decides TKO and Frank Warren are easier partners, Matchroom can be removed from major cards without leaving the Saudi operation short of alternatives.
Warren has remained aligned with the Riyadh group while showing flexibility over the Fury–Joshua date and location. That may leave Queensberry better placed for future Saudi events as Hearn returns to a far more limited DAZN schedule.
Dana White and TKO present another danger. White wants a more centralized boxing structure with tighter control over fighters and purses. Hearn has built his reputation by securing the largest possible payments for his boxers. The two approaches were always likely to collide, and this dispute may have given TKO another reason to work around Matchroom.
Hearn has made that stand for a 36-year-old Joshua whose career is nearing its conclusion. Joshua helped build Matchroom Boxing into an international company, so the promoter’s loyalty is understandable. However, Jaron Ennis, Diego Pacheco, Conor Benn and Matchroom’s younger fighters will need access to major financial opportunities long after Joshua retires.
It is too early to state that Hearn’s relationship with Alalshikh is finished. Neither side has announced a permanent split. Jones nevertheless sees the imbalance clearly. Hearn enforced Joshua’s contract and preserved the British venue, but he challenged a group with enough money, fighters, and promotional partners to continue without him.
Joshua may receive the home fight he demanded. Matchroom’s younger stable may inherit its cost.
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