“Completely untrue,” promoter Eddie Hearn said to The Stomping Grounds – via Boxing News – in response to a report that a deal had been made for a long anticipated fight between former heavyweight titlists Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. “There is absolutely nothing signed with Anthony Joshua to fight Tyson Fury next. There is nothing agreed. There have been conversations – deep conversations prior to the accident – that he was going to fight Jake Paul, then fight in February or March in Saudi Arabia, then fight Tyson Fury. Then obviously the accident happened.”
The accident Hearn speaks of was a brutal holiday season automobile crash in Africa, where Joshua was visiting friends and family. Two passengers in the vehicle died and Joshua himself was hurt. There’s still no definite fight on the horizon for the towering Londoner, but word is he may eventually return to the ring. A fight with Fury however is not on the agenda yet.. at least according to Joshua’s promoter, Hearn.
“Since then, there have been no conversations really about that fight,” Hearn said,”other than in the last few days conversations with Dr. Raka, Sela, about starting to think about revisiting the plan.” Suffice to say a fight between Joshua and Fury has long been on the wish list of fight fans.
Indeed, notable fight journalist Gareth Davis recently claimed to TalkSport that “the Fury-Joshua fight is signed. Okay, it is signed in the background. I’ve got that on good authority. I can’t put it out there as a scoop, but they are moving towards it.” Davies added that “They (Joshua and Fury) both want the fight.” While this may be true, Hearns’ comments indicate that it will be a bit before the fight is announced…if it even comes to fruition. In boxing, major announcements can be few and far between.
The truth is that a throwdown between Joshua and Fury would be an enormous event. Even though some argue both men are past their primes. First off, both have been world titlists. What’s more, they’re both super-sized heavyweights. Lastly, they’re both from England making this possible fight an even bigger deal in the UK than it would be everywhere else. Should these two men not meet in the ring for whatever reason, the fight world will be left with a sense of what could have been. These two have been on a collision course for years now. It would speak poorly of boxing if they weren’t at some point, able to throw down in the ring… Provided, of course, they’re both men were mentally physically able to do battle.
