By Charles Brun: Eddie Hearn feels confident that Anthony Joshua will deal Tyson Fury his first defeat when they fight on December 3rd.
Joshua has the offensive weapons and the style to bring Fury back down to earth. For every fighter, there’s someone out there that is the equivalent of kryptonite for them.
It doesn’t matter how good they are. There’s always someone that is a nightmare for them, and Joshua could be that person for Fury. It doesn’t take a genius to see where Fury is vulnerable.
When you watch Fury’s fights, he can be hit with punches straight down the middle. The shots that Fury picks off are the looping variety thrown by fighters like Deontay Wilder.
Fury has shown the ability to avoid the looping punches because they take so long to get to the target due to his size. If Joshua goes straight down the middle with his headshots and if he attacks Fury’s flabby midsection, he’s got the power to bring him down. Let’s be clear.
Fury is NOT a talent like Oleksandr Usyk, and he’s much easier to be hit due to his huge size. When you’re as big as Fury, it’s difficult to avoid punches when they’re thrown down the middle unless it’s something thrown by a slow ham & egger type of fighter.
Although Hearn openly admits that he wished Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) had taken a couple of other fights instead, he wasn’t about to try and get in his way when he decided that he wanted to fight Fury.
According to Hearn, there was concern that Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) might retire after facing unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed championship next year.
“I thought he’d beat Usyk. I always think AJ is going to win. I back him every time, and I’ve got his back, and I think he’s an outstanding heavyweight,” said Eddie Hearn to Matchroom Boxing.
“He lost to the pound-for-pound #1. I’ve always believed he can beat Tyson Fury,” Hearn continued. “But listen, I’ve written Tyson Fury off before, and he’s proved me wrong.
“Like I said, I didn’t expect the next fight to be Tyson Fury, but AJ is the boss, he’s the guy that makes the decisions, and he said, ‘I may not ever get the chance again. He fights Usyk, and he retires. So if it’s here, I accept.
“I would have liked to have negotiated a little bit harder, but for AJ, it wasn’t really about that. ‘If this is real.’ This is one that I don’t think we’re going to be going backward and forwards on.
“There’s nothing to tell you other than we’ve accepted terms, and we’re waiting for the contracts and fingers crossed. We’ll work quietly and see if we can get it done,” said Hearn.
