ORLANDO – Eddie Hearn says he believes that former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is only motivated to fight two possible opponents as he looks to rebound from a knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September.
“He’s pretty relaxed, but I’ll be honest, I think the only fights that really get his juices flowing are Dubois and Tyson Fury,” the Matchroom head told BoxingScene during a wide-ranging conversation at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida on Friday. “Doesn’t mean he won’t fight someone else. But he’s beaten Joseph Parker already, although Parker’s on a great run. Agit Kabayel is on a great run, but if you’re AJ, can you get yourself up for that? I don’t know.”
Hearn, who says Joshua “won’t be able to punch again or train properly for eight to ten weeks” after suffering an injury, still thinks the most likely scenario is a long-touted clash with fellow Brit and former champion Fury, even though the “Gypsy King” has again pronounced himself retired following a second loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
“In my deluded head, Fury comes out retirement at some point in the next few months, and they end up fighting this year,” Hearn speculated. “But again, no guarantee. Nothing’s led me to think that. I just think that at some point Tyson Fury is gonna sit there and go, ‘Fuck it.’ It’s the biggest fight to make and it’s not like he’s deteriorating. It’s not like he looked shot against Usyk; he just got beat by the better man. So, yeah, I think Dubois and Fury are the two that light the fire, but we’ll see what happens.”
Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcast about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He presently co-hosts the “Fighter Health Podcast” with Dr. Margaret Goodman. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.