IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua 22-0 (21) has been urged not to “slip up” against Andy Ruiz Jr 32-1 (21) by his promoter Eddie Hearn ahead of their clash at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden this Saturday night.
Joshua, 29, is aiming for a unification bout with American WBC champion Deontay Wilder 41-0-1 (40) but will need to turn back the challenge of the crafty Ruiz Jr first.
Speaking at Tuesday’s public workout, Hearn said: “I said to Joshua, ‘keep winning, don’t slip up against Ruiz Jr who has zero fear. He will come in low and swing them over the top. Don’t lose!’.
“Do we have to make the Wilder fight? More than anything. Biggest fight in world boxing and one of the biggest heavyweight fights of all time.
“I’m scared of Ruiz Jr and especially of Wilder – he can punch! But don’t you want those moments, a chance to be undisputed? You think we don’t want it? We want it so badly.
“AJ needs to say: ‘Now! November or December, no excuses, let’s do it’.
“First things first, beat this guy on Saturday – he will get hit, go through sticky patches, then knock him out. Make Madison Square Garden explode and show these American people the best heavyweight on the planet.”
Earlier in the week Joshua said he wanted to have a sit-down meeting with Wilder to get the fight sorted for later this year.
“I think we should sit down face-to-face and talk about what the issues are man-to-man and get this fight sorted this year,” he said to Sky Sports.
Wilder has long been linked to a rematch with Luis Ortiz, who he stopped in the tenth round of an even fight in March last year.
Hearn said: “Wilder is being talked into doing something that he doesn’t want to do. I believe he wants to fight Joshua but he’s being shown a plan for something different. They are convincing him to fight Luis Ortiz then Adam Kownacki.
“AJ should meet him face to face and ask, ‘am I wasting my time here?’ Go straight to the horse’s mouth.
“Wilder has got what we want, the final piece of the jigsaw.”
Hearn praised his fighter’s conditioning at the open workout in New York’s Financial Districts and insisted he was in better shape than he was for his last bout against Alexander Povetkin last September.
“Before the Alexander Povetkin fight, it got to fight week and he was shattered. He was ill on the Friday. Fight week is about recovery,” he said.
“He still works as hard but it’s been smarter. He is full of energy.”
 has been urged not to "slip up" against Andy Ruiz Jr 32-1 (21) by his promoter Eddie Hearn ahead of their clash at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden this Saturday night.){kind=link}