Jeff Horn set for 60/40 split in Tszyu blockbuster
THE biggest fight in Australian boxing inches towards a signed agreement.
With interest in the mouth-watering clash at an all-time high, the teams of Jeff Horn and Tim Tszyu have been deep in negotiations for a blockbuster clash for the first quarter of 2020.
However, significant ground has been covered over the past 48 hours, with the request for a 60/40 revenue split in favour of Horn accepted by the representatives of Tszyu, according to leading broadcaster Ben Damon.
“It’s a massive fight for Australian boxing,” he told Fox Sports News.
“We’ve seen the meteoritic rise of Tim Tszyu, particularly over the last twelve months, and of course the other worldly resurgence of Jeff Horn when he climbed off the canvas in the ninth round against Michael Zerafa and won that fight.
“The calls have been deafening for these two to get in the ring and face each other. The main sticking point has been the fact that Jeff Horn’s team demand a 60/40 split of the revenue for this fight.”
Among the other significant requests from the former welterweight titleholder, led by promoter Dean Lonergan and manager Glenn Rushton, is a neutral venue, or a clash in Brisbane, with Sydney not in their plans.
“They say they don’t want to fight in Sydney. They want Brisbane or a neutral venue,” Damon explained.
“Those are the points that have been put to the Tszyu camp and as recently as this morning they’ve confirmed they’re happy to go ahead and accept those conditions… there’s a little more to be done with things like who controls the promotion, and exactly where this fight does end up.
“But we do have a fight between Tim Tszyu and Jeff Horn. Still some negotiations need to take place but we’re a lot closer than we have been at any other stage, given the Tszyu camp have accepted those two key demands.
“It looks like we can get down to the nitty gritty, sort out the rest of it and get this fight done.”
Despite the concurrent negotiations, the willingness of Tszyu (15-0, 11 KOs) and his team, guided by promoter Matt Rose of No Limit Boxing and career-long manager Glen Jennings, to face Horn (20-2-1, 13 KOs) on his terms, suggest that an agreement could be struck in coming days.
Providing the aforementioned terms are successfully navigated, the final sticking point would be the date, with April expected to be a suitable timeline for all parties involved.
“Most likely, this fight will take place in April, and it can be done as the next fight for these two fighters,” concluded Damon.
“In terms of a venue, that is a little bit more tricky, because the demand from Jeff Horn’s camp was that they don’t want to go to Sydney. They want to have this fight in Brisbane, if at all possible and I think Brisbane does remain as the most likely venue.
“Otherwise, it could be a neutral venue and there’s been a few that have put their hats in the ring.
“Perth was mentioned about a week ago, Townsville is in there as well and plenty of venues right around the country would be interested in an event of this magnitude.”
Photo: Getty Images
