Eddie Hearn is undaunted by Tyson Fury's loss last Saturday night to Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh, saying the Gypsy King showed he is STILL on “The peak of his power,” and he wants to talk to Turki Alalshikha about the next fight between Tyson and Anthony Joshua.
Last payment
Hearn wants to arrange two fights between AJ and Fury, one at Wembley and the other in Riyadh. The attempt to sell the Fury vs. Joshua fight to the public, with both losing, looks desperate, as if the two are trying to extract their last paycheck from the fans.
British fans would still buy the fight in big numbers, but it wouldn't be popular in the American market, as fans would see it as a money grab between two washed-up fighters who never beat solid guys in their careers. Both were produced fighters who made a career out of beating the old 40-year-old Vladimir Klitschko. It was a highlight for Fury and Joshua.
They are already rich and it seems pathetic that they are fighting now. It's too late in the game without them coming back to pick up solid wins against top heavyweights like Martin Bakole and Daniel Dubois.
Hearn says Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) didn't look “miserable” and saw the fight as a draw. However, Fury lost by unanimous decision in 12 rounds, and the fans did not think he had won, nor did they see him at the “peak of his power”. He looked below average for him, but he was never great, even at the best of times.
The “only” fight
“It's Usyk-Fury tonight, but the reality is there's only one fight for Tyson Fury and that's Anthony Joshua,” Eddie Hearn told DAZN boxingreacting to Fury's loss to Oleksandr Usyk last Saturday night.
“This is the biggest fight in the history of British boxing. Everyone will want to see it. That wasn't Tyson Fury looking done, by the way. It was not a flat performance. It wasn't a bad performance. He didn't look aggressive. He didn't look like his striking ability was in question, like we talked about,” Hearn said, trying to put a positive spin on Fury's lackluster effort in his loss to Oleksandr last night.
“So I think Tyson Fury is potentially still at the peak of his powers. He's just not good enough to beat Oleksandr Usyk tonight, but for me AJ vs. Fury is the one at Wembley (London Stadium) and then he's back here (for the Fury-Joshua rematch) for the season in Riyadh. I will push his excellency (Turki Alalshikha) to fight, but that's another one, maybe for another day,” Hearn said.
Fury looked washed out last night against Usyk and would lose to many other heavyweights in the division. If Hearn fails to make a Joshua-Fury fight now, it will be too late as neither can beat the top five heavyweights.
Usyk looked far from great last night, but he was still too good for Fury. As for Joshua, he can no longer take a hit and is only safe as long as Hearn protects him with his matchmaking.