Talk of a long-awaited showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury is rife once again, but Eddie Hearn has now revealed that ‘AJ’ would prefer to face an alternate heavyweight, despite newfound confidence that he and ‘The Gypsy King’ will collide next year.
Joshua takes on Jake Paul this week, where it is now believed a victory will see him take the first step towards a clash against Fury, who is expected to come out of retirement in order to finally face his perennial rival.
Should Joshua come through Paul unscathed, it is understood that both he and Fury will take part in tune-up fights in February, possibly on the same card, in preparation for a fight with one another that is anticipated to go ahead during the second half of the calendar.
In an interview with Boxing Social, Eddie Hearn explained that Joshua’s February opponent would need to be good enough to be genuine preparation for Fury, but not enough of a threat to potentially disrupt his plans.
“There is [the risk of losing the Fury fight by taking on a tough opponent], but you also want to prepare. If he goes in there on Friday and finishes this guy [Paul] in a round, he has still been out of the ring for a year and a half and just done a round against Jake Paul.
“You want to have the kind of fight that is going to prepare you for Tyson Fury but not one that could be a banana skin.”
Hearn then went on to downplay the chances of a world title being on the line in Joshua’s February contest but admitted that the two-time champion would rather fight Fabio Wardley for the heavyweight crown than settle his feud with Fury.
“[Fabio Wardley] is a different kind of plan. That is the world heavyweight title, that is actually AJ’s preference over Tyson Fury. It is very close, but AJ would love to win the heavyweight world title again.
“If they offer us the Fabio Wardley fight and then the Tyson Fury fight, ‘AJ’ would have no problems taking that ASAP but obviously the size of the Fury fight [means that is unlikely, due to the risk of facing Wardley].”
Joshua must first overcome Paul, as the Watford-born powerhouse seeks a first win on U.S. soil, over six years since his devastating defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr. at Madison Square Garden.
