By Craig Daly: Eddie Hearn says the mega-fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will STILL happen, even if AJ loses the rematch against Oleksandr Usyk on August 2oth.
There is too much interest from the boxing public in the Joshua-Fury fight for Hearn not to make the match if Joshua loses to unified heavyweight champion Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs). What that means is the titles don’t matter. It’s about business.
Joshua is one step ahead of Hearn in that respect, as he said he’ll ditch the titles if he beats Usyk next month in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and let the fans appreciate him for who he is as a fighter. AJ will save a lot of money by immediately vacating the IBF, WBA & WBO titles.
Moreover, it would create more opportunities for interesting fights because the three belts would be fought over by other fighters.
“He wants to be respected as a great fighter; he is a great fighter,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about Anthony Joshua. “He has a very tough fight in front of him, but if and when he wins, let’s put him down as an all-time great.
“If Oleksandr sits on the pound-for-pound list at 1, 2 or 3, which he has to, let’s see him on the pound-for-pound list. I think that’s fantastic. I like AJ as the underdog in this fight, and he is the underdog because he lost the first one,” said Hearn when told that few fans are backing Joshua to win.
“There is an argument that Usyk is improving as a heavyweight and getting used to the weight. I know he’s done it before in the amateurs, but I think unquestionably, Anthony is the underdog in this fight, and I like that.
“The question I get asked the most is, ‘When is AJ going to fight Tyson Fury?’ Honestly, Joshua could have skipped this fight and fought Tyson Fury. That fight is always going to be the biggest in boxing, isn’t it? He doesn’t want to; he wants to win his belts back.
“He thinks he can beat Oleksandr Usyk, so he should be getting tremendous credit for not just fighting him once but going straight back into the rematch.
“I believe AJ-Fury will happen regardless of what happens on August 20th. But if and when AJ wins, that fight is the biggest fight in the history of the sport. Not just our generation, but the history of the sport,” said Hearn.
