Fury could fight Joshua next, Not Usyk says Eddie Hearn

By Boxing News - 11/24/2022 - Comments

By Scott Gilfoid: Eddie Hearn suspects that Tyson Fury could choose to face Anthony Joshua next rather than Oleksandr Usyk because it’s a much bigger fight.

If given the chance to fight Joshua for massive money, Fury will opt to go in that direction rather than take the risky fight with Usyk and get humiliated by him. Usyk is all wrong for Fury, and he knows that.

Hearn says Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) might say that he doesn’t rate Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs), but he does, and a fight against him would be the “biggest of all time.

In terms of money, fame, and legacy, WBC heavyweight champion Fury would do far better than if he takes the risky undisputed championship fight with the unbeaten IBF, WBA & WBO champion Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) next.

Usyk will make a monkey out of Fury, embarrassing him with his skills and showing how limited he is as a fighter.

Let’s face it; Fury is just a big lug who has been getting by in his last three fights by bullying his opponents with his size.

We’ve seen the shoving, rabbit punching, holding & hitting, and leaning that Fury has used to win.

The bending of the rules that Fury has done won’t be effective against Usyk because he’s too clever and won’t allow the bear-like Fury to hold, lean & connect with illegal rabbit shots to the back of the head.

“I don’t know if they will open a top tier. It’s very difficult, especially in December when it’s freezing,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about the December 3rd fight between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and Derek Chisora at Tottenham Hot Spurs Stadium in London.

30,000, 40,000, whatever it is, it’s still a very good crowd, but it’s difficult. You’ve got to create a compelling event, and you can’t do it every week. Every fight is a gangbuster.

“I get it,” said Hearn about the pay-per-view price of £26.95 for Fury vs. Chisora III. “Tyson Fury wants X [for his purse], and you’ve got to find a way to get there to get him to fight.

“I know Tyson Fury kindly wanted to fight Anthony Joshua for free, apparently, but it’s £26.95 for the Chisora fight. You’ve got to find a way to get the money together, and that’s the price point that they needed to try and hit their numbers.

“To me, AJ should fight three times a year every year, but because of his commercial responsibilities and the size of his events, sometimes it ends up being two. And because of COVID, it’s sometimes one.

“We have to make sure that in 2023, it sees him box three times. It’s really important, and the activity is key. Not really; it depends on what the ticket prices are. If AJ is in a big fight, every fight will be in a stadium.

“The return might be the O2. It’s been a fantastic venue for him. It’ll be a huge fight, and it’ll sell out instantly. As I said, it will depend on who he fights, but you’ll see many stadium fights for AJ in 2023 and beyond.

“And then three days ago, he said he [Fury] couldn’t retire unless he fought AJ, and he needs that fight badly,” said Hearn reacting to being told that Fury said he doesn’t wish to fight Joshua because he’s a “coward.”

“You’re seeing now from the social media responses that people are starting to come to terms with it doesn’t make sense what he’s saying,” said Hearn about the babbling Fury has been doing in interviews.

“Let him go on. Maybe he fights AJ instead of Usyk? I wouldn’t even be surprised. That fight is so big with AJ that sometimes you just get together, and you make the fight instantly.

“I think Fury wants legacy, and he knows the AJ fight is legacy because it’s the biggest fight of all time. He might be saying that he doesn’t rate Anthony Joshua. He does, and he knows it’s a real fight.

“We must see that fight, but you also have the Usyk fight. You have Chisora coming up. We’ll see what happens,” said Hearn.

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