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Frank Warren rips into Eddie Hearn, questions future with Anthony Joshua

"I’m seeing the stuff that Hearn is putting out at the moment talking about we kept this a secret and all this stuff - that’s total and utter bull****."

Frank Warren has responded to Eddie Hearn in emphatic style after being co-blamed for the collapse of Antony Joshua's blockbuster clash against Tyson Fury.
The two heavyweight kings were expected to collide on August 14 in Saudi Arabia to determine the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis.

Negotiations fell through within 48 hours of Fury confirming the clash last week after arbitrator Daniel Weinstein upheld Deontay Wilder's claim that he is contractually due another meeting with the "Gypsy King".
Hearn criticised Warren, alongside Top Rank's Bob Arum, for failing to deliver on their side.

"When you look back, there was never one positive comment from the other side," Hearn said earlier this week. "I didn't give up, I knew I could do it. I did as much as I could but I couldn't control the other side.
"I kept my head down and stayed with it, but unfortunately I took the word of people from people I shouldn't have."

Fury will now face Wilder with July 24 a provisional date for the trilogy showdown at the Allegiance Stadium.

Meanwhile, there is a deadline of May 31 for AJ to agree to a bout against WBO mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk.

Wembley Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are the two venues in pole position to host the event.

Warren - boxing's Hall of Fame promoter - has lashed out on Hearn's comments, branding them as 'total and utter bull****' to Jake Wood and Spencer Oliver's Pound for Pound Boxing Podcast.

"I've said all along, until it's signed it isn't done. I'm really annoyed, I'm seeing the stuff that Hearn is putting out at the moment talking about we kept this a secret and all this stuff - that's total and utter bull****," the Queensberry legend said.

"He signed an agreement with us when none of us would make any statements unless it was done jointly and that was back in January. In that agreement, it talks about that we are in the process of an arbitration so he was very, very much aware of it.
"For him to say any different is a total lie. It's in writing and it's a document that he signed, so it's just rubbish. Now, the arbitration, we have been waiting ages for the result of it and finally it came through as we all know and that caused a problem for the fight not to happen.
"Also, what was suppose to come to light was he was written to by the WBO - because remember - he was the one upfront saying he could deliver this, it's in his hands, every week or every other day he was going to make an announcement which didn't happen because the terms weren't agreed with the site at the time.
"He had problems with Usyk himself and Usyk's lawyers were writing to the WBO saying they were going to sue. It's a bit of a mess because of these commitments. What I find stupid is how anyone with half a brain can think that we didn't want this fight to go on. It's the money fight.
"Tyson Fury would go and get four times the amount he gets for fighting Wilder a third time fighting Anthony Joshua and Anthony Joshua would get the same amount of money than fighting Usyk.
"It's just stupid for anyone to say that. What it was, all the time putting this stuff out rather than just waiting and trying to deal with it and eventually it became a mess. Unless you've got something signed you have nothing."

Will Joshua move to DAZN?

Boxing's worst kept secret will see Hearn switch over from Sky Sports to DAZN on a full-time basis after June.

Lewis Ritson's IBF eliminator against Jeremias Ponce on June 12 will be the farewell event for Matchroom Boxing on Sky.

Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn celebrate after the former beat Andy Ruiz Jr. in Saudi Arabia

Hearn - who has worked with DAZN since 2018, promoting across other territories of Europe as well as North America - signed a nine-figure, five-year deal with the streaming service and will commence from July.

Joshua has one fight left on his Matchroom deal and Warren is unsure as to whether he will move over to the platform alongside Hearn.

"If you look at what he's said yesterday or today, he's said that it's down to Bob Arum and me the reason the fight's not gone on. Well hang on a minute. This is the fella who has been saying for months that I had nothing to do with the negotiations. It's just pathetic.

"The whole thing is pathetic and everyone needs to know - if they're interested in this - the reason he's been dragging this along is because he's got one fight left with AJ - and I don't know whether AJ is going to renew his contract with him or not - or whether AJ is going to stay at Sky.
"He's [Hearn] going off to DAZN, he's doing no more shows on Sky, it's signed with DAZN and that's where he's at and that's a fact of life. What is Anthony Joshua going to do - is he going to stay with them or not?
"If he fights Usyk, that's his last fight with Hearn unless he decides to renew. Hearn wanted to get this fight with Fury like we did but the reason he wanted it was to give it more juice with AJ because it was a two-fight deal. That's what it was all about," Warren concluded.

To listen to the EXPLOSIVE episiode of the Pound for Pound Boxing Podcast with Jake Wood, Spencer Oliver and British promoting legend Frank Warren, click here.

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