By Barry Holbrook: Eddie Hearn says that a site deal for the Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight should be locked in this week. Michael Benson reports Hearn saying that it’s happening this week for the site deal to be finally done, which is excellent news.
With Fury and his dad John seemingly losing patience with all the waiting around to get the site picked out, Hearn’s revelation is coming at the perfect time.
Now we need to wait to find out if this will pan out or if it’ll be another puff of smoke like Hearn’s talk of a mysterious billionaire from the Far East that was ready to stage the Joshua vs. Fury fight in his country.
Hearn must get the site deal done as quickly as possible, considering that Fury and his dad appear to be at the end of their rope, tired of the process, and potentially ready to move on.
Fury wants a tune-up fight, and it’s quite easy to understand where he’s coming from.
This works for IBF/WBA/WBO champion Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) to fight in June or July, but it’s not good for Fury because he’s been out of the ring for over a year now.
If it were only about money for Fury, he would be all in, ready to fight Joshua no matter how long he’s been out of the ring. But Fury wants to win, and it’s going to be difficult for him to do that when he hasn’t seen action for well over a year.
Even if Fury does whip himself into tip-top shape, it’s going to be difficult for him to be as sharp as he was for his last fight against Deontay Wilder in February 2020.
If Fury walks away from Joshua right now, he’s going to make a lot of people angry, and it’s unclear whether he’s brave enough to deal with the negative feedback he’ll receive.
Predictably, boxing fans will say that Fury lost his nerve and was too afraid to take the fight if he backs out now.
When you look at it from a logical point of view, Fury shouldn’t have taken the fight now. He should have fought Deontay Wilder or taken a tune-up against a top 15 contender to get ready for the AJ fight.
If Fury loses to Joshua in June because of rust, he may be no better off for the rematch, especially if he’s knocked out early by him. It would be a shame if Fury loses both fights to Joshua as a result of his ring rust.
Most boxing fans would agree that Fury should walk away from the Joshua fight this year, take two tune-up fights, and then revisit that match with AJ in 2022 under better circumstances.