Eddie Hearn has told Sky Sports Anthony Joshua has not agreed to fight in Africa this December, with February a ‘solid date’ for his next bout.
Speculation has mounted that Joshua could look to stage a comeback fight in Africa, with Ghana and Nigeria potential locations.
Joshua has Nigerian heritage and heavyweight contender Kingsley Ibeh was born in the country. Hearn poured cold water on suggestions a December fight was agreed, however.
“No, definitely not [fight in Africa agreed]. There’s all kinds of rumours swirling around about Anthony Joshua at the moment,” Hearn told Sky Sports.
“As always in the boxing world, maybe 5 per cent are right and 95 per cent are wrong. The situation is he’s in camp, he’s started his training camp now. We had talked about the possibility of some kind of run-out fight this year.
“I think as the days pass, that becomes less likely. February is the solid date for an AJ fight. Now, whether that’s a second fight or whether that’s his first fight back, we’ll see.
“As I said, at this stage, it feels like February will be his next fight. But we talked before about it being difficult for AJ because you come back off what will be a year and a half out of the ring at that point and you’re thrust back into a massive arena or stadium.
“Back in a high-profile fight, back in a tough fight. We just talked about the kind of blessing that would be a run-out fight without those kind of pressures. And just a chance for him to wrap his hands, get back in the feet of things.
“But he’s never really had the opportunity to do that. Unfortunately, that comes with the territory of being Anthony Joshua. Right now, he’s in training camp and he’s very focused for his return.
“We have had offers to stage an AJ fight in Ghana. Also approaches to stage an AJ fight in Nigeria. Also, obviously, we’re in deep conversations with Turki Al-Sheikh about a multi-fight deal that could include Tyson Fury, which would be the greatest scenario.
“There are a lot of options. But I can tell you now, the main thing is that he’s back in full training camp and his mind is fully focused on a return to the ring. That’s great news.”
“I think the key is to get him [Joshua] in the best physical condition and frame of mind and momentum to fight Tyson Fury.
“Now, we can’t control what Fury does. What we know is his excellence [Turki Al-Sheikh], he wants to make that fight. And he’s got a very good track record of making fights when he wants to make them. From our side, we are in negotiations for our side of a deal to fight Tyson Fury. But more importantly, we have a plan moving forward over the next 12 months.
“That deal is irrelevant until Tyson Fury also does his deal with Turki Al-Sheikh to fight Anthony Joshua. So there’s no point calling him out. He’s his own man.
“If he wants the fight, he takes the fight. I feel like he’s a competitor. I feel like if they both leave the sport without fighting each other, we’ll always kick ourselves, and it will be a big shame. But they’re their own people. They’re their own men and they’ll make their own decisions. We’re in.
“AJ wants it bad. I feel like Fury is the only person he has really talked about with venom. About wanting to do a job on him. I want him to knock him out, and he really wants to do that but we have to get it right.
“If we don’t get Fury, we’ll always kick ourselves. But we need the big man to say: ‘Let’s roll and give the British public the fight they’ve always wanted.'”
Sky Sport
