Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn woos disgraced heavyweight
Eddie Hearn is speaking freely about a bout between Antony Joshua and Tyson Fury following the latter’s Saturday night disgrace at Boulevard Hall, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
But Eddie Hearn might just be disappointed in Tyson Fury and surprised by the WBC heavyweight champion’s below-average performance against former UFC heavyweight champion and boxing debutant Francis Ngannou on Saturday.
Ngannou had landed the heavier and better blows during the competition and even struck down Tyson Fury in the third round of the ten-round fight, much to the awe and shock of boxing fans.
Since then, Tyson Fury’s status, namely ‘unbeatable and hugely dangerous’, has been replaced with less scary vocabularies in the dictionaries of most fans of combat sports. Francis Ngannou himself was rumoured to have earned being among the top ten contemporary boxers just by that one performance.
Now Hearn wants the once-feared heavyweight to battle with his client.
‘Fury’s had a long career,’ commented Eddie Hearn recently. ‘When he retired before maybe he knew he wasn’t quite the fighter he was. I just would be devastated if we never got [AJ versus Fury.]
‘I think he’s done, I do. No disrespect, I think he’s amazing for boxing. But that left hook wasn’t even on the chin. It was a brushing shot and it put him over. If Joshua is in there tonight he beats Tyson Fury seven days a week and twice on a Sunday.’
Many still think the defeat of Francis Ngannou was a robbery, but Hall of Famer Carl Froch opined it was corruption in the high places, saying he scored Ngannou to have won by at least two rounds.
‘Ngannou put on a sterling performance,’ said Froch. ‘It was just such a good performance, he was moving his head well, he was well balanced and he gave Tyson Fury one hell of a tough nights work
‘He was landing the bigger and harder shots and he dropped Tyson Fury, nobody even expected him to get near Fury and he dropped him.
‘Ngannou boxed brilliantly. I thought we won the fight, I scored it that he won the fight by 2 or 3 rounds, at least 2 rounds and with the knockdown I thought he deserved to get his hand held at the end of the fight.
‘With the knockdown on the card that seals the deal for me. Tyson Fury got beat and I think it was a bad decision. It wasn’t a blatant robbery as a lot of the rounds were close, I’ve seen worse decisions but for me Francis Ngannou won that fight.
‘I think the reason the fight was in Tyson Fury’s favour last night is purely because of this fight on the 23rd of December, Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk.
‘Unification fight that’s the fight we want to see and what we should be getting and that’s the reason I think Ngannou didn’t get the nod last night and for me it’s corruption, it’s corruption at the highest level.’
Finally, it seems too hard for Anthony Joshua to beat Tyson Fury, judging from Joshua’s recent matches. Fighters Joshua was able to defeat were, as fans thought, not exceptional.
They want him to face Deontay Wilder or any of the higher heavyweights. Discussions are allegedly still ongoing for a fight contract to be signed by the two.
Tyson Fury will have to get better and face Oleksandr Usyk next year following the injuries he collected from fighting with Ngannou, which he must not compete with.