ALTHOUGH as predictable as the way in which Anthony Joshua demolished a 0-1 boxing novice on Friday night (March 8) in Riyadh, still it is interesting to hear just how confident Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is that Joshua beats Tyson Fury should they fight later this year.
The plan, of course, is for Fury and Joshua to finally meet – after years of avoiding each other – at some stage in the Middle East. Now, thanks to the money found out there, a natural fight between the two, Fury and Joshua, makes sense in more than just competition terms. Now every person involved stands to make life-changing money from it; the boxers, the promoters, the managers and trainers and anyone else hanging on the two fighters’ coattails.
The last obstacle, as far as getting the fight done, must be cleared on May 18. That’s when Fury fights Oleksandr Usyk, a man who has twice beaten Anthony Joshua and with relative ease, too. Should Fury come through that fight unscathed, there will then be a serious push for Fury vs. Joshua in the desert in the second half of the year.
The prospect of this excites not only boxing fans but also Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter. He, to his credit, has publicly backed Joshua to beat Fury since the day he started working with him and now, following Joshua’s two-round dismissal of mixed martial artist Francis Ngannou, Hearn says he has never been more certain of the outcome of Fury vs. Joshua.
“He (Fury) will always believe he can beat AJ,” Hearn told Boxing News. “Respect to Tyson Fury. He’s a great fighter. I hope he wins (against Usyk). I’ve just always believed AJ beats Fury and like this (the way Joshua beat Francis Ngannou).
“If he hits Fury with one of those right hands, anybody, they’re going to sleep. He said to me, Tyson, ‘I hit him with a load of massive shots, never budged him once.’ That’s the difference. I’ll back him every day of the week to beat Tyson Fury.”
If only boxing was that simple. Indeed, if only getting Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury to share a boxing ring was that simple.