Eddie Hearn has said Turki AlalShikh will put on Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium.

Joshua is currently in line to face the winner of the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. The two undefeated fighters face off on May 18 for the right to become the best heavyweight of their era. Joshua has put himself in a position to face the winner after knocking out Francis Ngannou in his last fight.

Even if Usyk were to beat Fury, there is still a feeling that a Fury-Joshua fight goes ahead due to Saudi Arabia’s involvement. Wembley would be an ideal place to hold the fight, given it is an all-British domestic clash. The fight would no doubt sell out. It could eclipse the 94,000 record crowd that Fury had for his bout with Dillian Whyte. But any plans for a Wembley fight would be based on a two-fight deal. One in Saudi Arabia and one at Wembley.

Fury vs Joshua

“He’s now talking about staging two AJ vs Fury fights, one in Saudi Arabia, and one at Wembley Stadium. He’s one of those guys that listens and reads everything. So, he’s definitely reading about, I wish this fight was at Wembley, or it’s a shame the fight is in Saudi Arabia. I mean, we really must have more of a global vision in sport, boxing doesn’t just sit here but two Brits, fighting for the undisputed World Championship, I think he would probably bring one of them to UK, I really do. And that financially, they’ve got the ability to do that,” Hearn said 

Despite that being the case, there are concerns that boxing will suffer in the long term at a grassroots level in the UK if the big fights don’t happen there. Hearn recognized that fighting in Saudi Arabia would likely get fighters higher purses. Since it is a prize-fighting sport, that is something that has to be considered.

Hearn On Saudi

But there are also worries that boxing is used to cover up the other serious issues in Saudi Arabia. There are still concerns over the country’s human rights record. There are suggestions that Saudi’s involvement in boxing is due to sportswashing. Sportswashing refers to countries using sport to improve their reputation after any wrongdoing. While Hearn admitted that things were improving in the country, he recognized that more needed to be done.

“I think I’m buying into the change that’s occurring in the country, particularly by using sport and entertainment, to change the face of what’s happening. So, from everything that I’m seeing on the ground, and it doesn’t take away from the other issues that need to be overcome, of course, we can’t move away from there. But also at the same time, I’m seeing the change when I go there, every other month, or every couple of weeks. And it’s not just in this confined bubble that I live in. Lots has to change there, lots has to change here and obviously, at different levels as well,” Hearn stated