It's on! Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have agreed and signed a lucrative two-fight deal for boxing's undisputed heavyweight title.
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed the news on Tuesday (NZ time), telling Sportsmail that "the hard part is over the line", earmarking June or July for the first bout.
BBC reports the deal is worth NZ$385million - the most lucrative boxing purse ever signed, eclipsing Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao.
The news comes less than a week after Fury revealed he had stopped training out of frustration that the two sides couldn't come to terms on a deal.
A venue for the first fight will be confirmed in the coming weeks, with Saudi Arabia understood to be leading the way, ahead of London's Wembley Stadium, New York's Madison Square Garden, Staples Centre in Los Angeles as well as offers from Australia, UAE and Singapore.
Joshua will put his IBF, WBA and WBO titles on the line against Fury's WBC strap.
A guaranteed rematch clause has been included regardless of the result.
Speaking to Sportsmail, Hearn said this will be the biggest fight in boxing history.
"We will now collectively loom at the best site," Hearn said.
"We have had a lot of offers and now we will go over the details and see what works the best for this historic fight.
"The agreement is for the two fights and getting the names on contracts is a huge step. We will hopefully be in a position to confirm details on where and when in the next month."
Hearn confirmed the fight purse would be split 50-50 for the first fight, with the winner commanding 60-40 for the second.
Restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic could rule out the UK as a location, with Hearn set on having a big crowd in attendance, but it's understood both parties want at least one of the two bits in front of a British audience.
"The hard part is always getting everybody to put pen to paper but this was a major effort from all parties to get this over the line.
You had rival promoters, rival networks and rival fighters.
"I actually feel we've done the hard part. Speaking for myself, Anthony and his team at 258 management, I know how hard we've worked hard these last couple of months and I just feel that this fight is so big it's not a difficult sell."
