By Charles Brun: Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua would have no problem going straight into a unification match with Tyson Fury in December if the June 20 fight against Kubrat Pulev doesn’t happen.
If Joshua faces Fury in December without fighting Pulev, he’ll have been out of the ring for 12 months. That’s a long time for AJ to be out of the ring in going into a tough fight against Fury, but Hearn says he’ll do it.
The inactivity for Joshua would put him at a tremendous disadvantage against Fury in December. On the positive side, Joshua and Hearn would have a good excuse to give to the boxing world if things don’t go their way.
Fury scheduled to fight Wilder on October 3
With Fury and Wilder fighting in October, it’s pretty farfetched that the winner will agree to fight Joshua in December. That’s not going to be enough time for the winner of the Fury-Wilder 3 fight for them to rest and train to meet Joshua in December.
Even if Fury destroys Wilder without taking too many shots, he would still need to jump straight into another hard training camp to prepare for Joshua, and that would be asking a lot of him.
There’s a good chance that the third fight between Fury and Wilder may prove to be as difficult for the ‘Gypsy King’ than the first two fights between them, and he might even get knocked down a few times.
All we know is Wilder is going to be hunting on October 3 for the big game, and he’s not going to be kidding around. All the tricks that Fury used in the second fight against Wilder may prove ineffective in the third contest.
The current plan for IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) is to face Pulev on June 20 or July 25 if the fight needs to be postponed due to the coronavirus.
If Joshua still can’t face Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) on either of those dates, then Hearn says he could go straight into the December fight against Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs. That’s who Hearn believes will be the one that will emerge as the winner of the October fight between Fury and Deontay Wilder.
Hearn: Joshua may fight Fury in December
“Right now our plan is to fight Pulev in June or July then fight Fury or whoever holds the WBC belt at the time,” said Hearn to BBC Radio 5 Live.
“If the Pulev fight can’t take place we may end up seeing that fight [against Fury] happen later this year.
“It wouldn’t be ideal for AJ boxing in December to have been out for a whole year going into a fight like that but I don’t think he would have a problem with it.”
Currently, Joshua is scheduled to defend against his IBF mandatory Pulev on the 20th of June at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. All three of Joshua’s IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles will be on the line. For Joshua to get out of fighting Pulev before December, it would have to be postponed repeatedly because of the coronavirus.
On top of that, Joshua would need permission by the International Boxing Federation for him to bypass his title defense against Pulev.
There are too many ‘IFs’ involved in Hearn’s dream of Joshua fighting Fury in December. It would be hard enough for Hearn to realize his dream if the coronavirus wasn’t around postponing fights left and right. Having the Fury vs. Wilder 3 fight rescheduled for October 3 puts it too close to December for it to be realistic that the winner will fight Joshua in that month.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R53mzhj7ZhA