Hearn welcomed another Fury outing before a proposed Joshua clash but insisted it will not affect the result he expects
Eddie Hearn says Tyson Fury can take another fight before a proposed showdown with Anthony Joshua, but he does not believe it will change what happens when they finally share the ring. The Matchroom chairman argued Fury’s recent win over Arslanbek Makhmudov already provided valuable rounds and dismissed suggestions that another tune-up would alter the matchup.
“If he needs another fight, let him have another fight,” Hearn told IFL TV. “He just had 12 good rounds against Makhmudov. It is a bit of a gap between it. No problem. Let him do what he’s got to do.
“But it’s not going to save him. It’s not going to save him because I know what happens in this fight.”
The Matchroom chairman was in London promoting Anthony Joshua’s July 25 return against Kristian Prenga. While much of the attention remains on a potential Joshua-Fury fight later this year, Hearn stressed that Joshua’s team cannot afford to overlook the immediate task in front of them.
He pointed to Oleksandr Usyk’s difficult night against Rico Verhoeven in May as an example of what can happen when an underdog exceeds expectations.
“Things like Rico against Usyk, that makes you even more dialed in for things like this,” Hearn said. “We cannot afford to take our eye off the ball.”
Prenga enters the fight unbeaten in his last 20 professional bouts and has stopped every opponent during that stretch. Hearn acknowledged that Joshua’s camp is treating the contest seriously despite the attention already being directed toward Fury.
The expectation remains that a Joshua-Fury fight will be finalized later this year if both men come through their summer assignments.
Hearn’s view is that another fight may help Fury stay active, but it will not change the outcome he expects once the long-awaited heavyweight showdown finally arrives.
