"It’s worth us blowing a few quid"- Eddie Hearn provides HUGE update on Joshua's next fight

Eddie Hearn reveals Anthony Joshua will have to wait until December for his return to the ring against Kubrat Pulev. The promoter is splashing more than £5million on his open-air but closed-doors Fight Camp. Therefore, even a discounted purse for Joshua cannot be met short of a crowded 02 Arena. Dillian Whyte is taking a wage cut for his world heavyweight championship eliminator against Alexander Povetkin at the end of August.  But for Joshua to come even close to his usual eight-figure pay night will require at least a £5million live attendance. Since crowd sizes for boxing are not expected to be raised by the government to 50 per cent capacity until mid-winter, Joshua’s defence of his world heavyweight titles has now been pushed back from October to December 5 or 12. Hearn explains: "I’ve just spoken to Josh and although he’s champing at the bit to fight again he gets it. The most we could hope for in October or November is a crowd of about 2,000. We can’t even rely on going somewhere abroad like Saudi for a big site fee because every country has a coronavirus problem. "One upside of December is that Fury will be having his trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder six days before Christmas so both events will spice things up for a fight between Tyson and AJ next year....as long as they both win." Meanwhile, Hearn is investing in helping to bring boxing back before the TV public. "It’s worth us blowing a few quid," says Hearn, "because it looks spectacular and that’s good for us during this time out. It also gives work and good exposure to some of our other fighters, which they need even it means them taking a bit of a purse reduction." Source: Daily Mail

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