Eddie Hearn has insisted that Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury's fight could still take place because the fight's promoters and broadcasters are still working to "conclude the deal."
After giving Joshua until Monday at 5 p.m. to sign the agreement, Fury announced on social media that the fight scheduled for December had been cancelled.
The WBC champion claimed that Joshua's team had not moved, but Hearn has since claimed that the promoters and broadcasters concerned have received several "positive" phone calls.
Hearn claims that on Monday, the promoters and broadcasters—who are frantically trying to finalise AJ and Fury's fight—had several "positive" phone calls.
Hearn continued by stating that despite Fury's claim that AJ had until Monday at 5 p.m. to sign the contract, there has been no discussion of a deadline between the two parties.
The chairman of Matchroom Sport, Hearn, has stated that they are instead "moving at pace to try and conclude the deal."
“There has been no talk of a deadline between the parties, but we are moving at pace to try and conclude the deal.”
Hearn’s comments came shortly after Fury insisted he would not be fighting his heavyweight rival AJ in December.
Fury said the deal with Joshua was ‘off’ because his fellow Brit missed a deadline of 5 pm on Monday afternoon to sign the contract.
The Gypsy King – who is frustrated with what he perceives to be a lack of movement from Joshua’s camp – posted a video on Instagram minutes after the cut-off passed.
The 34-year-old said he will be moving on to face someone else because Joshua is an ‘idiot’ who ‘didn’t have the minerals to take the fight.
Nevertheless, Hearn is still confident the fight will go ahead as he believes negotiations are heading in the right direction.
However, Fury’s promoter Frank Warren has already established a backup plan for the Gypsy King. He has lined up Mahmoud (formerly Manuel) Charr as a potential replacement for Joshua.