The long-awaited heavyweight showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua has been contractually agreed and will go ahead, according to Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn.
Hearn’s comments on Sunday came after Fury suggested on Friday that the all-British blockbuster was unlikely to happen.
“We’ve signed the contract, we’re waiting for a date,” Hearn told DAZN.
The promoter insisted neither fighter could simply walk away from the agreement, despite uncertainty over when and where the bout will take place.
“The fight’s signed. No-one can pull out of the fight. You can’t just pull out of a contract,” Hearn said.
The main issue still to be resolved is the venue.
The fight had been expected to take place in the United Kingdom in November, but Saudi organisers Sela are pushing for the contest to be staged in the United States.
Joshua and Fury have separate contracts with Sela, with New York’s Madison Square Garden reportedly among the venues under consideration. The fight is also expected to be broadcast on Netflix.
Hearn said Joshua’s camp would prefer the fight to remain in Britain, although it would consider moving the event to the US if the terms were right.
“We know everybody and his dog involved in the fight wants to do the fight in America. We don’t,” Hearn said.
He added that negotiations with Sela were continuing but stressed there was no suggestion that the fight itself was at risk.
“We’ve told Sela and the team, ‘If you want to do it in America, these are the terms that we can move forward with. But we’d rather not please,’” he said.
Fury and Joshua have long been expected to meet in one of the biggest fights in British boxing history.
With the agreement now signed, the date and venue remain the major outstanding details.