Anthony Joshua believes Tyson Fury fight may never happen, says Eddie Hearn

Anthony Joshua doesn't believe he will ever get the chance to face Tyson Fury for the unified heavyweight title, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.

Joshua and Fury had both put pen to paper on a deal to fight in Saudi Arabia on August 14, but an arbitration ruling in favour of Deontay Wilder saw that deal shelved so the 'Gyspy King' could engage in a trilogy with the American.

And now Joshua has set his sights on a fight with mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk, the highly-rated pound-for-pound fighter who was considered one of the best cruiserweights of all time before moving up in 2019.

Fury takes on Wilder at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 24, having drawn with and beaten his rival in their previous two fights.

And Joshua is expected to take on Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in September, with the potential of a super fight in December or January, likely still to take place in Saudi Arabia.

"AJ never felt they wanted the fight, he never felt like Fury wanted it," Hearn told the BBC.

"I think AJ, in his head, probably thinks the fight will never happen. I would like to be more hopeful and I think it will happen.

"If AJ knocks out Usyk and Fury knocks out Wilder then in four months we are talking about an even bigger fight.

Will Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury ever fight for the unified world heavyweight championship? Tell us in the comments below

"One could lose or look bad but I do get the feeling if they both win then the fight is huge. I am hoping it works out for the best."

Fury and Wilder's bout in Vegas will take place in an arena that allows for a capacity crowd in July, but there are still questions over what size of crowd will be allowed at Joshua's bout.

Currently, July 19 is set as the date for England to fully reopen, and it is unsure whether or not Matchroom Boxing will be allowed to let in the 65,000-person capacity for the heavyweight title fight.

And despite Fury, as well as a number of fans and experts, claiming that there is a chance Usyk will be too much for the Watford native, Hearn says that they are excited about the challenge posed by their Ukrainian opponent.

"AJ knows how good Usyk is but he wants to do a job on him because he also knows people are unsure about him winning the fight and I think he likes that," Hearn continued.

"He has done four weeks of southpaw sparring up in Sheffield and he is gearing himself up for a big fight. We just hope that everywhere is open because we want to do 60-70,000 at Spurs."

Joshua and Fury never fought in the amateurs, but they did spar over a decade ago when Joshua was still an up-and-coming amateur fighter.

Source: Read Full Article