The deal for Anthony Joshua to fight Tyson Fury was finalised in a Brighton karaoke bar, according to Matchroom executive Frank Smith.
On 11 December, Fury and Joshua will square off in the most-anticipated British fight of all time, as the former world heavyweight champions clash in Cardiff.
Before Principality Stadium was chosen as the venue for the mega-fight, the contest almost headed to New York City, only for “AJ” and his promoter Eddie Hearn to insist on a UK showdown.
Anthony Joshua (right) and Tyson Fury at their launch press conference (Reuters)
After months of intense negotiations, the fight was eventually finalised in late September, with Joshua, 36, and Fury, 38, having since faced off at a press conference.
When asked about the deal getting across the line, Hearn’s colleague Frank Smith told Tony Bellew on Fight Your Corner: “[It was] probably Monday afternoon [that the fight was made]. Actually on Sunday night, I met [Saudi company] Sela and lawyers in Brighton at about 8pm for about 4 hours.
“I tried to say to my missus, ‘Can they come around?’, and she was like: ‘You’re not having anyone around here!’ So, I had to go and find places – and there’s not many places in Brighton open on a Sunday night.
“So, we actually ended up in a karaoke bar, because we went to one place, but it had shut. I live on the seafront, right, so we went to a place, it had shut – [the city] is not busy at 8pm on a Sunday night. Went to the next place, shut, so I’ve gone to someone: ‘Where can I go around here?’
“We found a little restaurant we went and sat in. They went: ‘Right, it’s last orders, you’ve got half an hour.’ We had half an hour in there […] then we’ve gone from this little restaurant… They’ve gone: ‘Well, the karaoke place over there is open’.
“We’ve gone and sat in the corner of this place; they’re doing karaoke out there, and we’re talking about AJ-Fury and what the remaining points are! And this went on for 4 hours.
Matchroom’s Frank Smith (left) spoke to ex-champion Tony Bellew on ‘Fight Your Corner’ (Getty)
“We had people on the phones as well. And as they were on the phones, this woman came around: ‘Last orders, guys.’ And the people on the phones are like, ‘Where on earth are you?’, and we’re like: ‘We’re in a karaoke bar, because there was nowhere else.'”
Fury is the favourite to beat Joshua on 11 December, in part due to AJ’s fraught outing against Kristian Prenga in July. One day after Fury stopped a 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in seven rounds – in a non-televised bout in Thailand – Joshua climbed off the canvas twice in round one to stop Prenga in round two.
The fight in Saudi Arabia was Joshua’s first since his stoppage of YouTuber Jake Paul in December, which took place 10 days before AJ survived a car crash in Nigeria. The accident killed two of the boxer’s teammates: Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.
Meanwhile, Fury’s win over Wach was his second victory in three months, with the “Gypsy King” having outpointed Arslanbek Makhmudov in April. That fight in London marked Fury’s fifth return from retirement.
Frank Smith and Tony Bellew were speaking on Fight Your Corner, in partnership withHow a karaoke bar in BrightonMidnite.
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