Eddie Hearn is undaunted by Tyson Fury’s loss last Saturday night to Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh, saying the Gypsy King showed that he’s STILL at the “Peak of his powers,” and he wants to speak with Turki Alalshikh to make a fight between Tyson and Anthony Joshua next.
The Last Payday
Hearn wants to set up two fights between AJ and Fury, one at Wembley and another in Riyadh. Trying to sell a Fury vs. Joshua fight to the public, with both coming off of losses, looks desperate, like the two of them are trying to get one last payday out of the fans.
British fans would still purchase the fight in high numbers, but it wouldn’t be popular in the U.S. market, as fans would see it as a cash grab between two washed-up fighters who never beat solid guys during their careers. Both were manufactured fighters who made a career out of beating an old 40-ish Wladimir Klitschko. That was the high point for Fury and Joshua.
They’re already rich, and it seems pathetic to make this fight now. It’s too late in the game without them coming back to get some solid wins against top-rung heavyweights like Martin Bakole and Daniel Dubois.
Hearn says Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) didn’t look “poor,” and he saw the fight as a draw. However, Fury lost by a 12-round unanimous decision, and fans didn’t think he’d won, nor did they see him at the “peak of his powers.” He looked below average for him, but he’s never been great, even during the best of times.
The “Only” Fight
“This night’s Usyk-Fury, but the reality is there’s only one fight for Tyson Fury, and that’s Anthony Joshua,” said Eddie Hearn to DAZN Boxing, reacting to Fury’s loss to Oleksandr Usyk last Saturday night.
“It’s the biggest fight in the history of British boxing. Everyone will want to see it. By the way, that wasn’t a Tyson Fury that looked finished. That wasn’t a flat performance. That wasn’t a poor performance. He didn’t look gunshy. He didn’t look like his punch resistance was in question like we talked about,” said Hearn, trying to put a positive spin on Fury’s inept effort in his loss last night against Oleksandr.
“So, I think Tyson Fury potentially is still at the peak of his powers. He’s just not good enough to beat Oleksandr Usyk tonight, but for me, AJ against Fury is the one at Wembley [Stadium in London], and then it’s back out here [for the Fury-Joshua rematch] for Riyadh Season. I’m going to be pushing His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] to make the fight, but that’s another one maybe for another day,” said Hearn.
Fury looked washed up last night against Usyk and would lose to many other heavyweights in the division. If Hearn doesn’t make the Joshua-Fury fight now, it’ll be too late because neither can beat the top five heavyweights.
Usyk looked far from great last night but was still far too good for Fury. As for Joshua, he can no longer take a punch and is only safe as long as Hearn protects him with his matchmaking.
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