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LONDON. — Anthony Joshua’s first blockbuster world heavyweight boxing bout with Tyson Fury is unlikely to take place in Britain, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.

Joshua, the WBA, IBF and WBO world champion, and WBC belt holder Fury have agreed in principle to stage two eagerly-anticipated fights in 2021.

But Hearn does not believe the two Britons will slug it out in their own country.

Saudi Arabia, which staged Joshua’s win over Andy Ruiz Jr in December, has already emerged as favourite to host the contest.

Hearn admitted that while he would love the bout to be staged in Britain, financial practicalities make it much more likely that it will take place in the Middle East or China.

“If we can do the fight in the UK, fantastic, (but) we know Saudi Arabia would love to have this fight. We had a wonderful experience last time with the Andy Ruiz fight. Hearn told Matchroom’s Youtube channel on Thursday.

“We’ve had offers from China, we’ve had offers from around the world. This is the biggest fight in boxing, it doesn’t get any bigger.

“There’s not going to be any country that stages major events that won’t want this fight.”

While Britain is on the back-burner as a potential host for the first fight, Hearn did not completely rule out the possibility of the second meeting being in the UK.

“Everyone will talk about this fight taking place in the UK but it doesn’t work like that,” Hearn said.

“We have to go back to report the offers to these people’s teams. It’s a dangerous sport so let them make their money.

“It’s a two-fight deal so one will take place in an alternative venue to the other fight. If we can do the fight in the UK, fantastic.”

Meanwhile, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Thursday said he was shocked at the apparent involvement of an alleged gangland figure in brokering a boxing face-off between British world heavyweight champions Joshua and Fury.

WBA, IBF and WBO belt holder Joshua and Fury, who holds the WBC belt, have agreed in principle to meet in two blockbuster fights to determine the undisputed heavyweight champion.

Joshua’s promoter Hearn said the first bout could happen in the summer of 2021.

Fury on Wednesday thanked Daniel Kinahan, an Irishman, for getting the deal “over the line”.

“He’s just informed me that the biggest fight in British boxing history has just been agreed,” Fury said in a video message shared on his social media channels.

Namechecking Kinahan multiple times, he said: “Big shout out Dan — he got this done.”

In parliament on Thursday, lawmaker Alan Kelly said the country’s High Court had identified Kinahan as “a very senior figure in organised crime on a global scale”.

The Criminal Assets Bureau had also said he had “controlled and managed the operations of the Kinahan organised crime group for some time”, he added. “Our country has to intervene with the United Arab Emirates . . . in respect of this individual. We owe it to the victims of that cartel,” Kelly told Varadkar.

Kinahan is understood to be currently living in Dubai. — AFP.