Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn is hoping that Tyson Fury can beat Oleksandr Usyk in the rematch to become the undisputed heavyweight champion, giving AJ a shot at fighting him in a big showdown.
Hearn wants Fury to win but deep down he knows that's unlikely to happen and his vision of a Fury vs Joshua mega-fight is unlikely to pan out.
Pricing of the crap
Hearn said the Joshua-Fury fight could still happen even if the Gypsy King loses the rematch against Usyk, but it would be tainted in the eyes of boxing fans, especially if they were to charge exorbitant prices to buy PPV tickets for Fury vs. Joshua.
Who in their right mind would want to buy the Fury vs. Joshua fight after Fury's exhausting defeat at the hands of Usyk yet again?
If Fury vs. Joshua is marketed in that scenario, it needs to be priced to sell because Fury is on a losing streak. Hearn and Fury's promoters need to price it accordingly. Making it free might work, but that won't work.
Is Fury over at 35?
It would have been nice if Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) could have avenged his loss to Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs), but that might be expecting too much, as the 35-year-old Zizy King was old and frail and needed the referee's help in the ninth round.
It was clear he wouldn't be able to knock Fury out after the referee interfered with Usyk twice in round 9. The refereeing will be different in the rematch and it's unlikely we'll see a situation where Fury is protected when Usyk launches his attacks.
Hearn is hedging his bets
“It's only been a few days. It takes time to accept a defeat, it takes time to realise the injury and heal, so we'll just have to wait and see how it goes,” promoter Eddie Hearn told iFL TV about Tyson Fury.
As we can see, Hearn has already backed off and said Fury needs time to heal and accept the loss, which is a sign that Hearn is worried that Fury will lose to Usyk again and ruin his vision of a Tyson vs AJ fight.
“I think Tyson Fury would love to challenge Oleksandr Usyk again,” Hearn continued. “It was a great fight. The rematch would be huge. AJ wants to be a three-time heavyweight champion of the world.”
“So I think he needs to focus on who he fights next,” Hearn said of Anthony Joshua. “He'd want to fight Fury. He'd want to fight Usyk. Or maybe the winner of Hrgovic vs. Dubois next week. He's ready for anybody.”
When asked how much of a strain the Fury-Usyk fight had put on both fighters, Hearn replied: “It was quite tiring for both fighters, especially Oleksandr Usyk, given their age.”
“They both gave it their all that night and maybe lost a little bit of their soul in the process, but they're both great fighters and true warriors.
Dreams fade away
“I think so. Whether Fury loses the rematch or not, I think we'll see the fight,” Hearn said when asked if a Fury-Joshua fight would eventually happen.
“Obviously I wanted Tyson Fury to win. I think Fury can win the rematch, that would be the ideal scenario,” Hearn said, adding that he hopes Fury can beat Usyk in the rematch and lead to a Fury-Joshua fight.
Hearn is adamant that Fury vs Joshua will happen regardless of the outcome of the Usyk rematch, and if Fury loses, the AJ bout won't be the big fight Hearn was hoping for, but will be more of a veteran celebrity bout.
