Eddie Hearn has insisted that a long-awaited heavyweight fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury remains on course despite Fury claiming that the proposed bout is in serious doubt.

Fury said on Friday that Joshua had asked for “more money” and labelled his British rival and his team “cowards”, but Hearn, who represents Joshua, said a contract has already been signed and that the fight cannot simply be abandoned by either side.

“We’ve signed the contract, we’re waiting for a date. You saw Tyson Fury shouting and screaming. There’s nothing to shout and scream about, the fight’s done,” said Hearn, according to Sky Sports. “The fight’s signed. No one can pull out of the fight. You can’t just pull out of a contract.”

“There’s no suggestion that the fight’s not happening, no-one can stop this fight from happening,” said Hearn. “The only way it can stop from happening is if they actually breach the contract.”

Fury and Joshua have been in talks over staging the all-British heavyweight contest in November, with Madison Square Garden in New York emerging as the likely venue. Hearn said the original contract called for the fight to take place in the UK, but Saudi organisers Sela are seeking to stage it in the United States.

“We know everybody and his dog involved in the fight wants to do the fight in America. We don’t,” said Hearn.“We’ve told Sela and the team if you want to do it in America, these are the terms that we can move forward with. But we’d rather not please.” Fury and Joshua previously failed to finalise a fight in 2021 after a US judge ruled that Fury was required to face Deontay Wilder for a third time.