Eddie Hearn provides Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua update – ‘Timing’s everything’

After Fury’s recent defeat to rival Oleksandr Usyk, many are now calling for the two-time heavyweight champion to take on ‘AJ’ in a blockbuster heavyweight showdown

Eddie Hearn has provided the latest on a potential clash between Joshua and Fury (
Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has opened up on negotiations regarding an all-British heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

The two stars have been tipped to face off in the ring this year. The ‘Gypsy King’ was recently beaten once again by Oleksandr Usyk last month. Having suffered back-to-back defeats to the Ukrainian, Fury’s career is now at a crossroads. As for Joshua, the two-time world champion was brutally knocked out by Daniel Dubois in September.

With both men losing their last respective bouts inside the squared-circle, it seemingly makes sense to pit the pair against each other. Fury and Joshua have been rumoured to fight each other for years – with the latter’s promoter revealing why the clash hasn’t take place yet. In an interview with Betfred, Hearn said: “[There’s] number of reasons [why it hasn’t happened yet].

“The time it was going to happen, which was the time we signed for the fight, was when Tyson had his arbitration with Deontay Wilder for the rematch. We signed to fight Tyson Fury and I believe Tyson was going to fight Anthony Joshua, but through the court ruling, he had to fight Wilder. That was taken out of our hands.”

Many within the boxing community believe both men are past their best, however, Hearn insists that’s completely not the case at all. “Timing’s everything and I still believe both fighters are close to the prime of their careers. I know Tyson got beat, but he got beat by Usyk in a close fight,” he said.

“There’s no shame in that and he’s still a great fighter. AJ’s still a brilliant heavyweight. So I think it’s a tremendous clash and right now, it’s very difficult to pick a winner in that fight, which is of course enthralling for boxing fans.”

When asked if negotiations have taken place regarding the potential heavyweight dust-up, the famous boxing promoter replied: “It’s not something that we’ve talked through yet. We’re only a couple weeks on from Tyson Fury’s defeat to Oleksandr Usyk. If he does want to continue fighting, which I presume he does, then it’s an obvious fight to make. It’s the biggest fight in the sport still and you get people telling you that it isn’t, but tell me a bigger fight? There isn’t one.”

In a recent interview with The Stomping Ground, Turki Alalshikh revealed his plans for the heavyweight division. The Saudi boxing chief is eager to book the clash between Joshua and Fury as well as a mouthwatering showdown between Usyk and Daniel Dubois – providing ‘Triple D’ gets through Joseph Parker next month.

“Next, if Dubois wins in February, I want to see Usyk and Dubois again,” said Alalshikh. “And I want to see Tyson, maybe with [Anthony] Joshua or something, we will decide. Let’s see what can happen, everything in Riyadh Season is realistic…The most important thing is the fans enjoy it.”