Eddie Hearn claims Joshua and Fury contracts differed over drug testing

Eddie Hearn claims Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury had different drug-testing requirements in their contracts, but says he does not believe Fury was obliged to begin testing when Joshua did.

Eddie Hearn has claimed drug-testing requirements were another difference between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury’s contracts, alongside discrepancies over the location and date of their proposed fight, BoxingScene reported.

Joshua’s promoter said his fighter’s contract, signed more than three months ago, required both men to begin testing immediately. Hearn said Joshua entered testing at that point, while Fury did not.

Speaking to Boxing News after Saturday’s Pat Brown-John Hedges event, Hearn said he did not necessarily blame Fury. He believed Fury’s agreement did not contain the same requirement to enrol when the contracts were signed.

A source close to the situation told the outlet that Fury would begin testing when the fight was formally announced.

The pair look set to meet on 11 December at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. The report states that Joshua’s contract required the contest to take place in the UK, while Fury’s did not, and that the dates in their agreements also differed.

Hearn said his team had accepted several contractual issues to keep the fight alive, but the location was the main point on which they would not compromise. TKO’s involvement was another concern he identified.