By Charles Brun: Eddie Hearn let Tyson Fury have it on Thursday, slamming him for cherry-picking “debutant” Francis Ngannou for a payday of $30-40 million in a guaranteed win while walking away from a bigger $60-80 million to fight Oleksandr Usyk in a fight he could lose.
Fury is avoiding the Usyk & Joshua fights because they’re difficult for him, and he could lose; and if that happens, the massive money he’s been getting for fighting subpar opposition will begin to disappear.
Hearn says that Fury and his team are telling the public Usyk & Anthony Joshua didn’t want to fight him, but the reality is he didn’t want to face either of those guys because he didn’t like the terms and the risk involved.
Eddie thinks that as a world champion, Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) owes it to the fans to fight the kind of opposition the boxing world wants.
Unfortunately, Fury’s not doing that by facing MMA fighter Ngannou because that’s not a fight that boxing fans want to see. Hearn says the MMA fans are pleased to see Ngannou fighting Fury because they’re happy he’s getting that bag and like him.
Hearn is critical of the opposition that Fury has fought since 2018, becoming a star from beating these fighters:
– Dereck Chisora
– Dillian Whyte
– Deontay Wilder
– Otto Wallin
– Tom Schwarz
– Francesco Pianeta
Fury fighting the wrong opposition
“So, number one, I don’t think he should be stripped of the world heavyweight title. Number two, it’s terrible for boxing because the World heavyweight champion should be making the fights that the world of boxing wants to see to cement your legacy as a true great,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV, commenting on Tyson Fury fighting Francis Ngannou on October 28th.
“Okay, so the fact is, we have been trying; boxing has been waiting for the undisputed heavyweight championship for five, six, seven, however many years.
“You’ve got an opportunity there for Tyson Fury to fight Oleksandr Usyk for 60, 70, 80 million dollars, and he didn’t want to do it, and that would cement Tyson Fury as a true great of the modern era.
“When you look at Tyson Fury’s victories over the last six, seven years, they are Sefer Seferi, Francesco Pianeta, Tom Schwartz Otto Wallin, Deontay Wilder, Derek Chisora, and Dillian Whyte.
“So I’m looking for him to fight AJ and Usyk. Listen, maybe he beats those guys. He’s a brilliant fighter. The problem and I face this problem sometimes as well. Frank Warren says the reason these fights is because everyone’s buggering off to Saudi Arabia.
“Yeah, to be in legacy-defining heavyweight fights. You’re buggering off to Saudi Arabia to fight a debutant [Ngannou], who has absolutely no chance in the fight,” said Hearn.
Tyson walked away
“Commercially, I think it’s decent business, but we should just be a bit more honest sometimes and just go, ‘It is what it is.’ I don’t like the way they say, ‘Well, Usyk wouldn’t fight me. Joshua wouldn’t find me,'” said Hearn.
“What else? And I especially don’t like the WBC saying that either because the WBC are pushing the narrative. So, Mauricio [Sulaiman], you’re telling me that Joshua didn’t want the fight [with Fury]. You’re telling me that Usyk didn’t want the fight with Tyson Fury. Come on.”
That was very surprising to see WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman saying this week that there was no one for Fury to fight, and that’s why he picked Ngannou.
“No, Fury didn’t like the terms of the fight, so he walked away from those fights, but what he’s doing? He’s fighting a fight for, I don’t know, 30-40 million, whatever that he can’t lose. So I’m not here to criticize the fight. I don’t mind it. I think it’ll do okay.
“The only people that are happy with the fight are MMA fans because I think they like Francis Ngannou, and they’re pleased for him to secure the bag. Boxing fans are furious.
“The reality is Fury is smart. Fury knows how difficult the Usyk fight is, and he had a number in his mind, and he knows that this fight is very tough, and to take it, ‘I’m going to want this amount of money.’
“The reality is. I see it time and time again, if you believe you can win, if you want the fight, you get it made. So what? Take 70 or 80 million for the fight, but it’s business, and I get it,” said Hearn.
