Matchroom Promoter, Eddie Hearn, has commented on the recent announcement of the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk, claiming that although it’s undeniably a huge fight, another heavyweight clash is the biggest fight in boxing.
After much criticism for failures to make Fury-Usyk back in Spring, the two champions have reached an agreement for an undisputed title clash with a reported date of either December 23rd or early January 2024.
Although, despite applauding the efforts of both men and their teams, Hearn claimed that an all-British blockbluster between Fury and Anthony Joshua would make for a bigger and better spectacle than the historic first-ever four-belt undisputed fight.
Speaking to iFL TV, Hearn said:
“No [it’s not the biggest fight in boxing], Fury against AJ [Anthony Joshua] is, but it’s a massive fight and it’s not far behind. I only say that because when you have got two global stars, commercial giants fighting each other, like Fury-AJ, it’s bigger. Usyk is not the global star, but he is the unified heavyweight world champion, so it’s a massive fight, first undisputed [heavyweight] fight since Lennox Lewis in 1999.”
“It’s a huge fight, AJ-Fury, AJ-Wilder, Fury-Usyk, Benn-Eubank, they are all mega, mega fights. Even getting one of them, I know we haven’t got a date and anything could happen, but it is certainly very positive and I think that it shows you that, when the money is there, the fights will happen.”
“Freak money, like we are seeing for this fight and for Joshua-Wilder and stuff like that, comes around once so often, but when it does come, it’s great to see big fights happening.”
In contrast to the success of the Fury-Usyk negotiations, Hearn has suffered a setback in making the much expected showdown between ‘AJ’ and Deontay Wilder, with a proposed deal with Saudi Arabia’s Skills Challenge now dead in the water.