Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn is on the cusp of either landing the biggest fight of his career or losing it, as Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua stands on the brink.
It all depends on what report you believe.
The Essex man has been very vocal in his exploits to put the undisputed collision together. In recent days, his quotes have become more desperate.
Now, as we approach May, almost six months on from both sides saying “the deal was agreed,” – the deal remains precarious.
Even Hearn himself admitted he doesn’t have a backup for Joshua after months of what could be failed negotiations.
“There is no Plan B. I’m a guy who loves to have a Plan B. But all our eggs are in this basket,” Hearn told Sky Sports, who is hoping to stage the biggest fight in British heavyweight history overseas.
“That’s something that we’re talking about with the site. A lot of international sites that stage major events will invest huge money to showcase their city as a point of tourism.
“It’s important for them to do that.
“You hope at the end of July, early August, that corridor to the Middle East will be open.
“But it’s not a necessity for the fight to take place,” he added.
Hearn has already outlined that Fury vs. Joshua is dropping from one fight to two. That’s if it even gets over the line at all.
TYSON FURY vs. DEONTAY WILDER III
Deontay Wilder is already on standby to step in and face Fury for the third time in Las Vegas this summer. Promoter Bob Arum has made that abundantly clear.
Fury battered Wilder in seven rounds fourteen months ago but diverted a trilogy to give Hearn and Joshua the benefit of the doubt.
After doubting it could happen for weeks, Fury, Arum, and UK promoter Frank Warren could be proved right.
They all had predicted that the Joshua fight had not moved any closer to completion than it was the last time they tried to make the bout in 2020.
It’s a sorry state of affairs for the UK public. Several times they were promised a collision between the two biggest UK names.
As Fury contemplates another installment with Wilder, Joshua could now turn to mandatory Oleksandr Usyk instead.
That’s unless Hearn can pull a rabbit out of a hat.
Phil Jay is the Editor of WBN. An Auxiliary member of the Boxing Writers Association of America since 2018. And a member of the Sports Journalists’ Association. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
