Finkel accused Eddie Hearn of being ‘contradictory’ in an exclusive interview with WBN on Tuesday, saying: “You speak to us every day or you haven’t spoken to us for four weeks? Which one is it? I met Barry on June 1. That was 11 days ago.
“Obviously, some of Eddie’s quotes are contradictory. Just be honest because eventually you will get called out.
“We are hopeful that the contract he sends is one that will result in this fight happening rather than a contract that guarantees it won’t happen.
“This is the fight the fans want and so do we, we’ll find out soon if the Joshua side wants it,” he added.
Asked for a response to Finkel, Hearn exclusively told World Boxing News: “Shirley Winkel you mean? I saw the article, I probably do contradict myself, but he’s the same age as my old man and they can’t remember what they said yesterday, let alone five minutes ago.”
Hearn’s father Barry met with Finkel in New York last week to discuss the negotiations. “I think Shirley sometimes can just be a silly old sausage, that’s the best way to describe him,” Hearn said. “but we’re making progress and that’s why I sent the old guard in.
“He doesn’t like me and it would be very difficult for us to do a deal together, so I sent my Dad in and it’s worked, we’re making progress.” added the Matchroom boss.
The fight negotiations have been drawn out for sometime now, with the latest development coming Monday when Finkel told WBN that they were accepting an offer from Joshua to take the fight in the UK, and Hearn had his say on Wilder’s situation.
“He’s (Shelly Finkel) under a huge amount of pressure because Deontay wants to know what’s going on. they haven’t delivered him any big paydays or any profile.
“Deontay is probably ringing him up every day asking what’s next for me? if it’s not Joshua then who is it and how much you going to pay me?
“If it’s not Joshua they’re bang in trouble and the future doesn’t look great for Deontay Wilder,” Hearn concluded.
Thomas Davison is a staff writer for World Boxing News. Follow Thomas on Twitter @thomasdavison93
