Eddie Hearn has hit back at Johnny Nelson as Anthony Joshua prepares to regain his world heavyweight titles.
The Matchroom head honcho will be at ringside on Saturday when the 32-year-old rematches Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) will be bidding to grab the WBA Super, IBF, IBO and WBO world titles against the former undisputed cruiserweight champion at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia after Usyk dethroned the Brit at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London last September.
And Hearn has stated that people need to give the former Olympic champion the credit that his resume deserves.
Speaking to Boxing Social, Hearn said:
“If you’re rocking with AJ this weekend then you’re one of us.
“If you’re not, we’re not interested.
“But if and when he wins this weekend, he goes down as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.”
A win for Joshua will lead to him being a three-time unified heavyweight champion – but that’s not something the aforementioned Nelson thinks will happen.
Nelson, the former WBO cruiserweight champion, believes Joshua could follow Tyson Fury, the WBC champion who recently relinquished the Ring Magazine belt that will be at stake in a vacant capacity between Usyk and Joshua later this week, into retirement.
But Hearn was angered by those comments:
“If you go out there and you beat the pound-for-pound number one, please get the credit.
“People are saying that he shouldn’t have boxed Usyk, that he should retire, that he shouldn’t have taken the immediate rematch, but if he wins, just give him the credit.
“He never gets enough credit because people feel like he’s a product, but we should be championing this young man for taking these challenges.”
“He has been the saviour of British boxing”
You can watch the full interview with Eddie Hearn right here:
Streaming giant DAZN, to whom Joshua committed his broadcasting future back in June in a groundbreaking deal, will show the fight in the US, as well as more than 190 territories, including Canada, Spain, Germany, Italy, Japan and Poland, while Sky Sports Box Office will broadcast the fight in the UK & Ireland after paid £23million to do so.