Promoter Eddie Hearn says he doesn’t believe much that comes out of the Tyson Fury camp but he still holds out hope that a fight against Anthony Joshua can be made.
WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion Joshua 24-1 (22) was expected to face WBC boss Fury 30-0-1 (21) later this year before a last-minute ruling by an independent arbitrator ruled that Fury must face former titleholder Deontay Wilder 42-1-1 (41) for a third time.
That fight was scheduled to take place on July 24 before Fury reportedly tested positive for Covid-19 and the bout was pushed back to October 9 in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, Joshua has moved on to line up a mandatory title defence against former undisputed cruiserweight champion and WBO number one contender Oleksandr Usyk 18-0 (13) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in Tottenham, England on September 25.
Hearn, who promotes Joshua, is still keen to make the rare four-belt unification bout between his boxer and Fury.
“I’d love to say yes,” the Matchroom Boxing boss told talkSPORT. “I hope and pray [that it happens].
“I don’t really believe a lot that comes from that side. I hope their fight [Fury vs Wilder] happens in October and I hope Fury wins.
“Right now, the way everything’s gone, let’s just beat Usyk on September 25 – that’s going to be a tough fight.
“But that is the dream. The dream has always been for AJ to be undisputed world champion and we won’t stop until that happens.”
A loss to Wilder would take the shine off a proposed Fury bout. But Joshua looks to have his hands full too against crafty Ukrainian southpaw Usyk, who moved up to the open weight class two years ago.
If Usyk wins, it is likely Joshua will opt for an immediate rematch.
“Yes, there will be [a rematch clause]. It’s a two-fight deal in that respect,” Hearn added. “If he wins the fight, he’ll move on and he will hopefully fight the winner of Wilder vs Fury.”
The Joshua vs Fury unification bout took many long months to negotiate and was set to take place in Saudi Arabia on August 14 with a reported $155 million site fee to secure the rights to the fight.
When the fight fell through at the 11th hour it left a bitter taste in the mouth of many fans who had long clamoured for clarity on who is the best heavyweight on the planet.
“We were moving towards the Fury fight, then all of a sudden he pulled out and couldn’t take it,” Hearn continued.
“We had to face our mandatory, which happens to be Usyk. It’s Olympic gold vs Olympic gold at London 2012.
“Unified world heavyweight champion against undisputed cruiserweight champion – it’s a real fight.
“As disappointed as many of us were about the Fury fight, this is the next biggest fight out there. It’s going to be a great fight.”
