June 29, 2024
Source: Boxing Scene
Photo Source: Boxing Scene
PHOENIX – Many things still need to happen, but that doesn’t mean the excitement over the future needs to be diminished.
So Eddie Hearn soaked it all in this week in London as his former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and countryman Tyson Fury spent some minutes on a FaceTime call made by Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh.
“(Alalshikh’s) got a real desire to make Joshua versus Fury. Whenever they get together, that’s a big focus,” Hearn told BoxingScene Friday.
The matchup has been simmering – if not boiling – for the better part of the past decade as Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) and Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) have won and lost their belts and continued chattering about making a date.
When Fury pressed boxing’s most prominent fight-maker Alalshikh over when he could make it happen, he answered the second quarter of 2025.
“We can’t miss out on the journey,” Hearn cautioned.
Earlier this week, Hearn was there to announce Joshua would fight to re-collect his former IBF heavyweight belt Sept. 21 at England’s Wembley Stadium versus former title challenger Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs).
Fury is also occupied this year, plotting to avenge his May 18 undisputed heavyweight title loss by split decision to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk when they stage their rematch Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 21.
“The size of (Joshua-Fury) multiplies by 10 or 20 if both win,” Hearn said. “Our priority is to see A.J. win and become a three-time champion on Sept. 21, and then it’s over to Tyson Fury. A.J. really wants to fight Tyson Fury. Also, the dream is to become undisputed.”
While Joshua has previously lost two decisions to Usyk and would of course pursue a “third crack,” as Hearn put it, “we also understand the size of the Tyson Fury fight.”
Hearn, who has promoted Joshua since his gold-medal victory in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, said he’s never felt so confident in Joshua, who has won four consecutive fights since the second Usyk loss, including a fifth-round stoppage of Otto Wallin and a crushing second-round knockout of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou – men who each took Fury the distance.
“Even sitting at a roundtable … (he’s) like a veteran now,” Hearn said. “I can remember when we fought Klitschko. We didn’t have a clue what we were doing. (Klitschko) would tell him (in promotional scenes), ‘Ok, we’re going to turn to the cameras in 3, 2, 1 … .’ Now, we’ve been there so many times. He’s so confident right now.
“It’s a tough fight, by the way. Dubois’ a handful. He can punch, he’s very aggressive. But it’s a terrible time to be fighting Anthony Joshua, especially with that style. Because if (Dubois) comes at (Joshua) gung-ho, A.J.’s like a sniper at the moment. He’s punching so hard. You saw that against Wallin. You saw that against Ngannou. I’ve never seen him throw with such intensity or malice.”
Trainer Ben Davison has worked with Joshua, 34, amid the strides, accelerating the sentiment that the popular Brit will achieve all that was originally expected of him before the upset loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. and the Usyk defeats.
Plus, Hearn acknowledges he’s desperate to defeat a Frank Warren-promoted fighter after the British rival swept him, five victories to zero, in their “5 versus 5” tournament in Saudi Arabia on June 1.
Warren also promotes Fury.
“I said to him, ‘We lost 10-nil, but this one (Joshua-Dubois) is worth at least 20,” Hearn cracked. “We’ve got (Josh) Warrington against (Warren’s super-featherweight champion Anthony) Cacace on the (Sept. 21) undercard, too, so we’re looking for a couple of big wins.”
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