Eddie Hearn believes Tyson Fury will be effected by the backlash he’s currently receiving for a fight with Oleksandr Usyk failing to materialise.
Whilst Fury and his team are adamant that they did everything they could to make the bout happen, talks collapsed in a heap with the Ukrainian’s side claiming that ‘unacceptable demands’ were made.
‘The Gypsy King’ hit out at his fellow champ, calling him a coward – and plenty of other names – and solely blames him for the legacy-defining four-belt clash not happening.
The public perception is a little different, though, with a majority of fans believing Usyk to be the most willing of the two.
Hearn told Boxing Social that ‘reputation was everything’, highlighting his and Anthony Joshua’s successful negotiations with Usyk’s team.
“At the end of the day, your reputation is everything. Ask Usyk and Alex Krassyuk what it was like working with us. And the feeling’s mutual.”
As for that reputation, Hearn believes Fury’s has taken a hit off the back of the failed talks. And, despite his posturing, the promoter thinks the WBC champion will be affected by it.
“It’s gonna be tough for him [Fury], because he’s gonna take a lot of flack. He will be [bothered by it.] Everybody’s bothered by the flack. People are bothered in deeper and different ways … It bothers you. It bothers me, I don’t mind admitting it.”
“It’ll get to Tyson Fury, because he’ll be criticised heavily. Some people will think it’s his fault, some people won’t, but he won’t like that criticism.”
Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, has said his fighter is ‘p***ed off’ and that now is not the right time to discuss their next move. He didn’t, however, rule out retirement.