Tony Bellew got lots of praise for how he responded to Eddie Hearn saying that people want Fury vs Joshua to happen in the US.
Tony Bellew has received a lot of praise for how he responded to Eddie Hearn about whether the big fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua should take place in the United States.
The Fury vs. Joshua fight is one of the most exciting heavyweight matches in Britain in a long time, and many have hoped it would happen at Wembley Stadium.
However, Saudi promoter Turki Alalshikh wants the fight time to fit other time zones—especially in the U.S.
Last month, a spokesperson for London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the mayor thinks London would be the perfect place to host this highly-anticipated fight.
“The Mayor is ready to support efforts to bring this event to our city as we work to make London better for everyone,” the spokesperson added.
Fury got closer to making the fight happen after easily beating Poland’s Mariusz Wach in Thailand last Friday. The match ended just before the eighth round, and it wasn’t shown on TV.
After the fight, Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, said that New York’s Madison Square Garden is the top choice for Alalshikh, Netflix (which will broadcast the fight), and TKO board member Nick Khan.
Tony Bellew was surprised and asked, “But why?” “Because most pay-per-view buys will come from the UK,” Hearn said.
Bellew pushed back, saying, “American boxing is dead, Ed. Nobody cares there. They had a WBC heavyweight champion for 10 years, and no one noticed. It’s shameful. So why go there? What’s the point?”
Hearn replied, “Why are you asking me?”
Bellew said, “I’m just tired of it. We’re trying to appeal to America, but America doesn’t care about us. When have they really cared about boxing? They want what we have—the best crowds and the most passionate fans. That’s why it should happen here.”
He added, “Fury and Joshua are the heart of British boxing. They’ve brought the sport back to life.”
Fans agreed with Bellew’s view. One wrote, “Well said, Tony… it should be in the UK, but it’s all about money.”
Another said, “They don’t care about British fans—they only care about the payday.”
A third added, “He’s speaking for all of us.”
Others mentioned, “It’d be terrible if the fight isn’t held at Wembley in front of 100,000 fans,” and “Bellew is right—two British fighters deserve to fight at home with their biggest supporters.”