Anthony Joshua is certain he is the indisputable ‘A’ side when it comes to a potential showdown with Tyson Fury.
The IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion won’t let that opinion prevent what would be the biggest fight in British boxing history from happening, though. Joshua agreed to a 50-50 purse split when their promoters were negotiating for an ill-fated fight this past summer in Saudi Arabia, and he’ll do it again if Joshua and Fury win their upcoming respective title defenses against Oleksandr Usyk and Deontay Wilder.
Joshua and Fury, the unbeaten WBC champion, want to revisit negotiations if both boxers emerge victorious Saturday night in London and October 9 in Las Vegas. Nevertheless, Joshua couldn’t help but claim his position in those negotiations when asked about it during a Zoom conference call with American reporters this week.
“We had a 50-50 deal on the table to get it over the line, initially,” Joshua said. “When I say that, [it’s] because that’s just showing you I want the fight. But I know when it comes to boxing in the UK, for example, and, maybe not America, but you’re talking about Saudi Arabia and other countries, we do good business. And when it comes to like title defenses, because Fury’s not defended his [WBC] title, when it comes to when you look at my last 10 opponents, his last 10 opponents, all that stuff, come on, man, I have to be the ‘A’ side. There’s no question about it.
“But I’m not gonna get in that. I would never let that hold up a fight, at the end of the day. There’s enough prize money on the table for everyone to eat. So, as much as I wanna take 90 percent of the pot, unfortunately I can’t and I’ve gotta split it to get the fight. So be it.”
A capacity crowd of nearly 70,000 is expected Saturday night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to watch Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) defend his four belts versus Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs), a former undisputed cruiserweight champion and the mandatory challenger for Joshua’s WBO belt.
Sky Sports Box Office will air Joshua-Usyk in the United Kingdom and Ireland (6 p.m. BST; £24.95). DAZN will stream the 12-round bout between Joshua and Usyk in the United States (1 p.m. EDT) and more than 170 additional countries and territories.
A crowd of approximately 90,000 attended Joshua’s career-defining fight, an 11th-round stoppage of Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017 at Wembley Stadium in London. Joshua, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, has drawn comparable crowds for other victories at Wembley Stadium and Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
Fury’s rematch with Wilder in February 2020 established Nevada’s record for gate revenue for a heavyweight fight, at nearly $17 million. That bout, which Fury won by seventh-round technical knockout, took place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs), of Manchester, England, and Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, will meet a third time two weeks from Saturday night at nearby T-Mobile Arena.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
