by Steve Kim

While doing a phone interview on 'the 3 Knockdown Rule' podcast with Mario Lopez, promoter Eddie Hearn was asked about the status of the negotiations between IBF/WBA/WBO/IBO heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs), and WBC belt-holder, Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs).

The discussions between the two sides have heated in the last few weeks, after Wilder's handlers presented Joshua with a guaranteed deal of $50 million.

One of the biggest sticking points in finalizing the deal - is the location of the fight.

Wilder wants the contest to take place in the United States, while Joshua is standing firm on having the event in the UK.

"We're talking,"said Hearn, the head of Matchroom Sports, which represents Joshua, "which I guess is positive. We're in a situation where Anthony Joshua, me, as well and his trainer/manager Rob McCracken feel like he and we have earned the right to do this fight in the UK. We feel that he's the A-side in the fight, he's got three of the four championship belts.

"He's the one producing the 90,000 (fans in attendance). We've got a great offer from Deontay Wilder's team, unfortunately for Deontay Wilder's team Anthony Joshua doesn't need the money and he's not driven by the money. But we want to do everything we can do to get the fight to happen in the UK."

But Hearn added - "Does that mean we wont go to America? Not necessarily, but it's not going to be driven by whether he can make $35(million), $45 (million) or $50 million in America. This is where (Joshua) been doing things, this is where he's been building. This is a big fight, this is a high risk fight and the feeling  from the team is the fight should take place in the UK.

"So we've gone back to them, we're still talking, we've talked about their numbers from our side."

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.