Hearn on potential Fury-Joshua- “You will get this fight”

With the celebration still in full swing after Tyson Fury’s Saturday night 7th round TKO upset of Deontay Wilder to capture the WBC Heavyweight Championship Saturday night, everyone is wondering what will happen next?

As has been widely reported, there is an immediate rematch clause in the agreement for last Saturday night’s fight, if the losing fighter wants it. In this case it’s Wilder and his team’s choice. And, we will wait to see if that’s what they will exercise for a third Fury-Wilder later this year.

Meanwhile, there’s Unified Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua, who is supposedly close to an agreement to fight IBF number one challenger Kubrat Pulev. However, the deadline for that fight has come and gone twice, and it still has not been made as of yet.

Now, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing is making it clear that a Fury-Joshua fight will happen.

It a Monday interview with Sky Sports in England, Hearn promised U.K. fight fans that an historic Undisputed Heavyweight title fight between two British Fighters can, and will, become a reality:

"IT WILL HAPPEN"?@EddieHearn "promises" a fight between @anthonyfjoshua and @Tyson_Fury ??

?Read more: https://t.co/dOdE7i6QVq pic.twitter.com/tv2AlU5Qu8

— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) February 24, 2020

“I promise you that this fight will happen…. We will do everything it takes to make this fight. Last time you had us and you had ‘Team Wilder’ and we were locking heads. Right now you have two guys and two camps that genuinely want this fight,”  Hearn said to the camera Monday.

In some ways, it’s a comical insult that Hearn is so quick to want to agree to a fight between his guy (Joshua) and the new champ Fury. This after Joshua essentially avoided and hid from Wilder for the better part of the last two and half years.

This despite Wilder and Premier Boxing Champions making a documented offer in writing for Wilder to accept one third of the guaranteed money of Joshua, if Joshua would come to fight him in the United States.

Joshua eventually did come in fight instead at Madison Square Garden last June and was promptly knocked out by little known American Heavyweight contender, Andy Ruiz. Joshua has since regained his titles in a solid, but not spectacular, 12-round decision win over Ruiz last December in Saudi Arabia.

Get a full recap of Wilder-Fury II from our Big Fight Weekend podcast here:

Fury has stated that he only intends to fight twice more, and now that Saturday night is complete, it’s believed that the Wilder rematch is the likely next fight. However, if it’s not, would he be willing to agree and step through the ropes with Joshua next, who clearly is a more skilled fighter than what Wilder is?

And it obviously would be a massive financial windfall for Fury, Joshua, Hearn and Matchroom Boxing and for, as he mentions in the video,  Top Rank Boxing and promoter Bob Arum.

Still, there’s also the caveat that if Joshua doesn’t agree soon with the fight with Pulev, that he’s risking being stripped by the IBF. And, this is the same organization that stripped Canelo Alvarez of their version of the middleweight Championship last summer for not agreeing to fight their 160 lb. number one contender.

Also, it’s entirely possible that Joshua may be stripped of his WBO version of the championship for refusing to fight their mandatory challenger and former Undisputed Cruiserweight champ, Olexandr Usyk.

Yes, there’s a lot to sort out and a lot of money to be made down the road. Now it’s a matter of whom can agree with whom quickly for 2020 fights.