Eddie Hearn has called out Tyson Fury for sidestepping fights against Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk.
WBC heavyweight champion Fury 33-0-1 (24) has long been linked to a potential fight against domestic rival and two-time unified champion Joshua 26-3 (23). More recently the public has been pushing for a bout against WBA, WBO and IBF champion Usyk 21-0 (14).
Instead the self-styled ‘Gypsy King’ will face boxing debutant and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a 10-round non-title bout in Saudi Arabia on October 28.
Last week Fury told Mail Sport that there is little chance of him sharing the ring with either Joshua or Usyk.
“I don’t look forward to fighting [Joshua] anymore. It’s not even a fight I want. That bubble has been burst for me. His virginity has been taken away so it’s not interesting for me anymore.” Fury said.
“He’s been spanked by Usyk twice and been beaten by a fat man. So it’s not in my interest to beat him. He needs to get to the back of the queue. That fight is gone, it’s dead. That fight was off the cards as soon as he got beaten.”
Joshua’s promoter Hearn scoffed at those suggestions.
“Fury said he’s not interested in undisputed and that he thinks Usyk is rubbish,” the Matchroom Boxing boss told Mail Sport.
“He said he’s only interested in the big boys. But who are the big boys? If it’s not Usyk and AJ, who is it? They are two massive fights.
“It frustrates me because if Fury beats Usyk and AJ, he goes down as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. He will have beaten [Wladimir] Klitschko, [Deontay] Wilder, AJ and Usyk.
“And it’s massive money for both fights. It’s not like the money is bad for those fights. I don’t get it. I’ll never get it.”
As for Joshua’s next move, it remains up in the air as talks for a bout against former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder 43-2-1 (42) have stalled while Saudi financiers Skill Challenge Entertainment are going through internal management changes.
“We’ve agreed terms for that fight, we have agreed the money. We have agreed everything. What we haven’t got is the contract,” Hearn said to Mail Sport.
“There is a change in terms of boxing politics in Saudi Arabia. The people that we have worked with for a number of years, who told us the fight is done, have left so that might not be the case now. But I guess the strategy will be assessed by them.
“As I understand it, they still want to do AJ vs Wilder. They also want to do AJ vs Usyk. Do they want to do AJ vs Fury? I have no idea. But we are in for that fight but at the same time, we aren’t going to wait forever.
“We will see what happens over the next couple of weeks. There is a good chance that AJ will fight in December if he doesn’t fight Wilder in January.
“We are now looking at alternative venues for that fight as well just in case as previously we were told the fight was done. It’s a massive fight whether that’s in Saudi, whether that’s in Abu Dhabi or whether that’s in Vegas or Wembley.”
