Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk fight venue leaves Eddie Hearn ready for fan backlash

dailystar.co.uk:

Anthony Joshua ’s much-anticipated rematch with Oleksandr Usyk. Fans have already started reacting angrily to news the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight championship is heading to the Middle East.

Joshua already fought in Saudi when he outpointed Andy Ruiz to become a two-time world champion by getting revenge against the Mexican-American.But Amnesty International was vocal about Joshua fighting in Saudi Arabia back then owing to human rights issues in the country.

This time it is not Joshua’s side pushing to head to the Middle East, with Usyk’s team keen to bank the biggest pay cheque possible for the rematch.“At the end of a day, this is not a game of tennis,” Hearn said. “This is two guys having a fight in a ring putting their lives on the line.

We’ve done it before. It was extremely successful, everyone kept their word, the fighters made a lot of money. “It is impossible in a sport like this to say to a fighter, ‘you can earn X to do it in London or three times as much for doing it out there’. “Ultimately, the contract states - this is not just us - if there’s an offer that comes that is the maximum money we have to do it. “We are happy to do it, by the way. "We are ready for that [backlash], we’ve been there before, we’ve done it before.” Fans aren’t impressed that they face difficulties travelling to Jeddah where the fight will take place after 60,000 packed out Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first meeting between the pair.