ANTHONY JOSHUA may have to accept a 50-50 purse split to fight Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder, claims Eddie Hearn.
The British superstar is back on top of the heavyweight division after he snatched his belts back from Andy Ruiz Jr in the rematch.
Promoter Eddie Hearn insisted AJ is desperate to fight Tyson Fury and Deontay WilderCredit: PA:Press Association
Joshua has officially been ordered by the WBO to face mandatory challengers Oleksandr Usyk.
But the 30-year-old has set his sights on beating long term rivals Fury, 31, and WBC heavyweight champion Wilder, 34.
The Watford-born bruiser reportedly pocketed £60million for his rematch victory over Ruiz in Saudi Arabia.
He is used to calling the shots when it comes to the percentage of the purse he takes home, but Hearn has insisted that could change.
Speaking to iFL TV, he said: “He hopes Fury wins because he knows Fury will fight him.
“The whole problem is, that they all wanted 50-50. Neither of them [Wilder or Fury] deserved it.
“Do they deserve it now? There’s a good argument.
“AJ has lost, but he has come back, he’s still a huge star.
“But we all need each other and we acknowledge that now.
“At the time Wilder was earning peanuts. You can’t go from earning £3-4m to £40m when a guy is making 10 times as much as you.
“Now he’s got a decent deal because DAZN helped him get that. Is it 50-50? That’s for AJ to decide.
“Certainly the argument now is a lot stronger than it was a year ago.
“Ultimately we get to a stage where AJ just wants the fight, if he thinks it’s not worth 50-50, he’ll probably suffer it because he just wants the fight now.
“Through the Ruiz loss it wised up him to say you can’t take this sport for granted, especially in the division.
“He’s learned so much from that defeat and realised it’s not always plain sailing. It’s a risky sport, one punch can change everything.”
Fury is set to take on Wilder on February 22 after their first fight ended as a controversial draw in December 2018.
AJ claimed he would spar Fury in a bid to get him ready for the Bronze Bomber – but has allegedly retreated his offer.
Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder are set to go war for the second time on February 22Credit: Getty Images – Getty
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Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
