Netflix have ramped up the pressure on Anthony Joshua to accept Madison Square Garden as the venue for his blockbuster fight with Tyson Fury after airing a dramatic promo for the contest before it has even been officially announced.
The streaming giant teased the long-awaited Battle of Britain during the latest episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, despite Joshua’s camp remaining locked in a dispute over plans to stage the heavyweight showdown in New York.
Netflix and Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh want Fury and Joshua to finally collide at Madison Square Garden this autumn, with November 20 currently being targeted.
However, Joshua’s representatives are resisting the proposal because their agreement stipulates that the fight must be held in the UK.
That has created an extraordinary stand-off, with AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn even threatening to withdraw his fighter if a New York venue is announced without their approval.
Yet Netflix’s decision to begin promoting Fury against Joshua suggests preparations are continuing regardless.
A trailer for the fight was broadcast during Monday Night Raw, immediately generating intrigue among boxing supporters given there is still no confirmed venue or formal announcement.
One fan reacted: “What on Earth?”
Netflix have ramped up the pressure on Anthony Joshua to accept Madison Square Garden as the venue for his blockbuster fight with Tyson Fury after airing a dramatic promo for the contest before it has even been officially announced
|
GETTY
Another wrote: “It’s not even announced yet.”
A third suggested it was “clever from Netflix if it’s not over the line yet”, while another theorised the company could be “testing the water before deciding UK or US”.
The choice of WWE programming to promote the contest is particularly notable.
WWE is owned by TKO Group, which has become increasingly influential in boxing and has played a significant role in efforts to take Fury against Joshua to Madison Square Garden.
Anthony Joshua’s fight against Tyson Fury could take place at the end of the year | GETTY
UFC and Zuffa Boxing chief Dana White revealed last week that he had negotiated the “television deal and the venue deal” for the heavyweight spectacle.
But Joshua’s side insist the location cannot simply be changed without their agreement.
Hearn revealed he had already been contacted about plans for a New York announcement and immediately rejected them.
“The other day they wrote to us and said, ‘Just to let you know, we would like to announce the fight for New York’,” Hearn told The Punch Podcast.
“And I said, ‘No, you can’t’. There might even be a situation where they go for it and do announce it.
“And you will probably see me coming out quite quickly and say, ‘No fight’.”
Hearn then issued an unequivocal warning that Joshua’s camp is prepared to walk away from one of the richest fights in boxing.
“I promise you, if they announce that fight without an agreement in place to change the venue, there will be no fight and we ain’t bluffing,” he said.
Eddie Hearn is determined to prevent Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury being taken away from British fans | GETTY
“We feel really strongly that this fight should be in the UK.”
Joshua’s team could theoretically be persuaded to alter their position, but Hearn suggested it would require an enormous financial incentive.
“We kind of want to say, ‘Well, if you want to do it in America, you have got to pay us all of this money to change’,” he added.
“Because we are not really bothered about the money – we want it in England.
“So, we want to make it so much money that they just say, ‘You know what, let’s just do it in England’.
“That is our dream scenario.”
