AJ’S GOING WILD
Hearn: Forget the rematch, Joshua wants World title showdown with Deontay first, and then Fury
ANTHONY JOSHUA will fight both Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury in the greatest era of heavyweight boxing.
That’s the astonishing view of promoter Eddie Hearn (right).
The WBC sanctioned a Wilder- Fury rematch on
Friday night, but the door is still wide open for Joshua should Hearn strike a deal for a unification fight.
The 39-year-old jetted to the States last week in a bid to set up a Joshua and Wilder (above, with Fury) money-spinning, showdown with all four major belts the prize.
Hearn was tight-lipped about how negotiations went, but said: “I will be disappointed if we don’t get Wilder or Fury next. The focus is Wilder, but, if we can’t get him, we will go for Fury.
“Those two fights will happen. AJ wants those fights now and so do the fans, but he has five or six years left in boxing for them to happen.
“The bigger money fight is Wilder, but, for AJ, it’s about legacy and becoming undisputed champion. There is more demand for Joshua- Wilder, Wilder but I don’t think fans will be disappointed with Joshua-fury.
“They have the rematch they can do as that was part of the deal.
“But there’s never been a better t i me f or t he division. There was the era of Muhammad
Ali, Joe Frazier,
George
Foreman and others and now we are in the era of
Joshua, Wilder and Fury. There are great fights out there between very different characters, the same as there was back in Ali’s day day. There’s the same great mix of boxers and punchers and the same worldwide interest that there was back then as well. We’ve got stadium fights to look forward to over the next few years.
“We may have to look at finding a way to squeeze more seats into Wembley Stadium. The 90,000 seats may not be enough for fights against Wilder and Fury – and that’s an amazing statement to be making.
“There are other t op heavyweights out there as well, fighters like Luis Ortiz and Oleksandr Usyk and then there’s the rematch between Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora coming up at the end of the month. “I don’t think there’s ever been a better time t o be a boxing fan – or a boxing promoter promoter, for that matter matter. The pressure is on me to deliver the big fights – but I thrive on delivering the fights that the fans want to see.”
Joshua’s next defence is set for Wembley on April 13 and Hearn is convinced that, at the end of this golden era for heavyweight boxing, Joshua will be remembered as No.1.
Hearn added: “I believe AJ beats Fury every day of the week and he demolishes Wilder, who isn’t as good as people think he is.
“It was a poor performance from Wilder against Fury and everyone thought he lost – I had Fury winning by two rounds.
“He’s surprised me twice now. I didn’t think he would beat [Wladimir] Klitschko and I didn’t think he would do that to Wilder.
“But it wasn’t an all- time great heavyweight fight, like some are saying.
“The last round was unbelievable, but look at the punch stats.
“In some rounds, there were only three or four punches landed.
“In terms of negotiations, it was very good because, if Wilder had looked sensational, he could have said, ‘I want this, I want that.’
“The priority is to make that fight, but we aren’t going anywhere.”