Eddie Hearn Says Anthony Joshua Could’ve Fought Tyson Fury Next But Wanted To Get His Belts Back

Eddie Hearn thinks Anthony Joshua could’ve gotten the Tyson Fury fight next but wanted to rematch Oleksandr Usyk first.

Joshua is hoping to reclaim his belts on August 20 in Saudi Arabia against Usyk and for Hearn, he is well-aware that AJ is the underdog and not many expect him to win.

“I think that’s fantastic, to be honest with you,” Hearn told IFL TV. “I love AJ as the underdog in this fight, and he is the underdog because he lost the first one. And there is an argument that Usyk may be improving as a heavyweight. He’s getting used to the weight, getting used to fighting guys of that size. I know he’s done it before in the amateurs. But I think unquestionably Anthony is the underdog in this fight. And I like that.”

Although Anthony Joshua wanted to get his belts back, Eddie Hearn believes AJ could’ve gotten the Tyson Fury fight now which would’ve been massive. However, Joshua says he wants to prove he had an off-night against Usyk and wants to regain his titles before he faces Fury.

“In terms of the general public the one thing I get stopped the most about is when is Anthony Joshua fighting Tyson Fury,” Hearn said. “Well, he’s gotta fight Usyk first. But, yeah, blimey. Again, to be honest with you, AJ probably could’ve skipped this fight and fought Tyson Fury. That fight’s always going to be the biggest in boxing. But he (Joshua) doesn’t want to. He wants to win his belts back. He thinks he can beat Oleksandr Usyk. So he should be getting tremendous credit for not just fighting him once, but going straight back into the rematch.” 

Do you think we will ever see Anthony Joshua box Tyson Fury?