Eddie Hearn dropped a plot twist Friday afternoon in the venue standoff that has held Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury hostage for a month. In a social media post thanking fans for their support, the Matchroom boss announced that “talks have now re-opened for Wembley.”
The machinery behind the post is more interesting than the post itself. According to The Athletic’s reporting via BoxingScene, Sela has instructed Hearn to broker a deal with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who publicly threw his support behind bringing the fight home this week. The sticking point is almost comically specific: reports say the deal could hinge on extending a stadium curfew to 2am, so the fight starts when Sela and Netflix believe it will draw its biggest global audience. The biggest fight in British boxing history may come down to whether London agrees to stay up late.
New York has not gone away. Madison Square Garden remains in play, and nothing is agreed. Joshua signed for a UK venue, the fight’s backers spent a month pushing for America, Fury has said repeatedly he will fight anywhere, and his manager Spencer Brown went further this week, telling reporters “we will fight him on the moon.”
A final decision is expected within days. After a week that included dueling fight posters, deadline threats, and Fury announcing he was moving on, the fight is somehow closer to Wembley than it has been since April.
As we wrote earlier this week, time will tell whether Eddie Hearn wins the Cadillac or the steak knives. As of Friday afternoon, both are still on the table.
