Promoter Eddie Hearn says he wants Anthony Joshua to fight Tyson Fury twice in 2025 and then retire.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Hearn is torn because he wants Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) to avenge his loss to IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, but recognizes the need for him to ‘The Gypsy King,’ who is getting on in years.
Fury is 36, but it looks like he is 60. The mega-fight has to happen now, and Hearn realizes that.
If Hearn waits to make the Joshua-Fury fight, Fury will likely keep getting beaten, and so will AJ. Neither has aged like fine wine, and they have to make the fight between them before whatever fan there was to see this match would disappear.
Hearn says he’ll wait to see the outcome of the December 21st rematch between Fury and WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. However, the only reason Hearn will be watching it is to find out if Fury will be the unified champion to defend against Joshua next or if he’ll be coming off a loss.
Other than that, there’s no real reason to tune in because Hearn has already decided he wants Fury next for Joshua, win or lose. Unfortunately, this is how two fighters’ careers are right now, but he’s got to pull the trigger on the fight now while he still can.
Joshua has already done a rebuild, and it didn’t work, and the fans won’t be interested in seeing him repeat the process.
“Taking away AJ’s emotions, taking away the fighter in him, taking away the price. Do we wait until December 21st and see what happens with Tyson Fury, or do we jump straight back in with Daniel Dubois?” said Eddie Hearn to DAZN Boxing about what Anthony Joshua should do next.
If Fury loses to Usyk by a knockout, Hearn may need to consider waiting until Tyson gets a win under his belt before making the fight with Joshua. It would look really bad if Fury goes into the AJ fight off the back of a KO loss. That would be three consecutive losses for Fury because his win against Francis Ngannou in 2023 was highly questionable.
If you saw that fight, as I did, you’ll know that the three judges in Riyadh gave Fury a gift decision. Fury looked feeble in that fight.
“Daniel Dubois is probably going to fight in February. Are we ready to go in February? Is that the right move for us? That’s the next decision. For me, we have to fight Tyson Fury before it’s done,” Hearn continued.
“If Tyson Fury loses against Oleksandr Usyk, my advice for those two [Joshua and Fury] is to have two fights in 2025 and then sail off in the sunset. May the best man win. If Fury wins against Oleksandr Usyk, AJ can fight Fury for the unified heavyweight championship.”
“We have to fight Tyson Fury next” –@EddieHearn on next steps for @anthonyjoshua 👀 pic.twitter.com/FqANAoyQWm
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 25, 2024
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