Eddie Hearn’s recent comments about his fighter, Anthony Joshua, facing Tyson Fury this year have been shot down in brutal fashion.
Fury – the current WBC Heavyweight Champion – is deep in negotiations to face Oleksandr Usyk, the only other title holder in the division and the man who stands in the way of ‘The Gypsy King’ being undisputed.
Hearn, who is currently promoting Joshua’s comeback fight following back-to-back losses at the hands of Usyk, threw their collective hat in the ring to face Fury if the Usyk fight doesn’t materialise. He spoke to IFL TV about the fight’s potential.
“We would be open for that fight. If Usyk doesn’t fight Fury, AJ will fight Fury next in the summer if he gets through Franklin. How about that. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it – he will.”
“Don’t be surprised to see that fight [AJ vs Fury] in the summer if the other one don’t happen, because that’s much bigger than the Usyk fight, much bigger.”
Fans should indeed be surprised if happens, though, because Fury has fired back just days later to completely shut down any idea of the fight. He told SPORTbible that Joshua was ‘dead in his eyes.’
“I don’t even [want to] go there anymore. Finished. No interest in any AJ questions. Zero. Man’s dead in my eyes. There’s no business between me and him to be done. Finished. From 2017 to, however long it’s been, 2022 – trying to make a fight. So, it’s not happening.”
The pair were perhaps the closest they have ever been to a fight last year, but public negotiations crumbled and left the working relationship between camps worse than ever.
It would be one of the sport’s missed opportunities – and there are many – if the two British heavyweights fail to face off, but for now that looks the most likely scenario.