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By: Sean Crose
“We wanted to do it in December,” Eddie Hearn said to talkSport in a recent interview, “but I think with AJ fighting September 25, Fury now delayed until October, I think February is more realistic.” Hearn was talking about a long awaited super fight between his fighter, Anthony Joshua, and Tyson Fury. “They had a huge offer from Saudi Arabia to do the fight there,” Hearn added. Joshua and Fury had been all but set to meet in August, but an American arbitrator’s ruling squashed the plan. Now Fury will be facing Deontay Wilder for the third time in October while Joshua is set to face Oleksandr Usyk in September.
Had Joshua faced Fury in August, as had been originally planned, the battle would have been for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. For Joshua currently holds the WBA, IBF, and WBO titles while Fury holds the lineal and WBC titles. Now, should the men even meet, it may not be for the undisputed championship. Wilder once held the WBC title himself, and has fought Fury to a draw. Usyk was recently undisputed cruiserweight champion. Hearn, at least, understands the significant chances Joshua and Fury have of losing before they ever get a chance to fight each other “First things first,” said Hearn, “let’s just beat Usyk, because if that doesn’t go to plan we can forget about it.”
Even if both Joshua and Fury win their respective upcoming fights, there’s the matter of money that will have to be contended with. “Ultimately in the fight game, which is extremely dangerous and these guys are putting themselves on the line,” said Hearn, “it is about generating as much money for the fight as possible.” Naturally, there are many fans would like to see a Joshua-Fury fight in England, as both fighters are Englishmen. “With fans back in the UK is that an option?” Hearn asked rhetorically. “Las Vegas? We’ll see.”
After the miserable experience of trying to make the Joshua-Fury fight for August, Hearn isn’t too keen to attempting to again get the fight made at this very moment. “No, no talks with anyone” he said, “because I don’t wanna waste my time…I spent six months wasting my time so let’s get these fights out of the way and let’s see what happens.” The question, of course, will be whether or not Joshua and Fury will be able to “get these fights out of the way” so easily. Neither man is up against an easy opponent, after all. Far from it.
