ANTHONY JOSHUA is one or two fights away from Tyson Fury, according to promoter Eddie Hearn. Fury has his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko for the WBA and WBO heavyweight titles on July 9, while Joshua is defending his IBF championship against Dominic Breazeale on June 25.
Hearn, who represents Joshua, said, “The question with Fury, if he wins, do we fight him in November/December or do we fight him in April/May? April/May at Wembley makes obvious sense and we’ve got to deal with [Joseph] Parker, a possible mandatory there. We all believe that he beats Fury etc. now. But we also know that in two or three fights time he a million percent beats him. But we live in a world now where the public don’t want to wait. So you’re torn between making the correct decision for his progress to making a decision based on public demand and marrying up the two is quite difficult.
“[Fury] has got to beat Klitschko again, I don’t know if he does. But if he doesn’t, [Joshua] will fight Klitschko. There’s another one… How do you see that fight? Devastating knockout. That’s what I think will happen to Fury. He [Joshua] will stand in front of Fury, he will cut him off and he will let his hands go. I know he’ll be frustrated but he’s too fast… We haven’t seen him go rounds, so that’s why it’s fascinating.”
Hearn has been in talks with Tyson’s team. “I’ve had a lot of conversations with Peter Fury [Tyson’s uncle and trainer]. I think if we can agree the fight after the next two fights, I think we can get that announced for next spring/summer, we can agree in five minutes. You’ve got one guy who’s probably got a more credible win and has two belts and you’ve got another guy who’s a bigger draw. It’s 50-50 and once he says I agree, it’s done. All the money in the pot, good luck lads, you’ve just made yourself an absolute fortune,” the promoter continued.
“Both guys will box in the meantime so the public we’ll have to get their head round that and they want to see it now. Every fan wants to see it now. They don’t want to wait. It’s a year till that fight will happen. It’s a long time, but it isn’t really, it’s one or two fights away.”
Joshua has risen to world title level quickly, but he doesn’t need to rush. “That’s another thing. It’s almost like you’ve got to pace yourself. You want to dive in those fights now and in 18 months you’ve been through everybody and you’re sitting there going well I can’t move up, I can’t move down, who else is there? So we’re doing it at the right pace,” Hearn said.
There is no denying the potential magnitude of Fury-Joshua. “It would break seven figures on the box office, no doubt about that and it’s a really good fight. I’m so confident in that fight. Styles make fights, the [David] Haye fight, that’s a tough fight and that’s a fight that will come as well, I believe. The Fury fight is perfect for Anthony Joshua,” Hearn said.
