AJ vs Wilder Boxing : Anthony Joshua is ready to turn down a £37million offer to fight Deontay Wilder in the USA by insisting their world heavyweight unification bout takes place in the United Kingdom.
Hearn said that Joshua, holder of the WBO, IBF and WBA titles, should be allowed to have home advantage against Wilder, of Alabama, who holds the WBC crown.
Joshua is prepared to take a pay cut of more than £7m to fight in front of his home fans. Wembley Stadium, Twickenham Stadium and even the Olympic Stadium are three possible venues for the blockbuster contest to take place, with the preference being for an outdoor venue to stage the fight in September.
AJ vs Wilder Boxing : Joshua has been offered a baseline of $50m (£37m) to face Wilder in America by the WBC champion’s team, but Hearn insisted: “AJ’s not really swayed by an extra £10m or £15m. He’d rather do the fight over here in front of his fans.
“Yes, [fighting in the UK] is an advantage. But AJ genuinely is thinking more of the fans in his decision. How many would we be able to get in America? Maybe 6,000 to 10,000 fans. AJ said: ‘Is that it?’ When you’re dealing with 90,000 and he could bring an undisputed championship fight to Britain, AJ is genuinely interested in that stuff. The old saying about how you have to go to America to make it big, I don’t see that anymore. That’s not in AJ’s mind.
“I think Rob’s feeling is as an ex-fighter you should fight for these belts on your turf. There’s an interview AJ did after his last fight that has been played back a few times and he basically says, for years and years British fighters have had to go to America for the big fights.”