Eddie Hearn, the promoter for Matchroom, has given boxing fans the clearest indication yet that an Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury fight could take place in 2023.
Joshua’s immediate future is the primary topic of conversation following his decision victory over Jermaine Franklin at London’s O2 Arena amid new rumours of a fight versus “The Gypsy King.” After an eight-month hiatus from the ring, the gold medalist from London 2012 wasn’t at his most convincing, but anticipation is growing for a matchup with Fury after his unification match against Oleksandr Usyk ended in a draw.
Moreover, Hearn claimed that Bob Arum, Fury’s American promoter, contacted him to inquire about the possibility of scheduling the fight this year. Given that ‘AJ’ has only had one victory in the previous 28 months and that there are currently two opportunities for the bout to take place in 2023, timing is a particular problem for him.
“Bob Arum phoned me the other day, which was quite a surprise,” Hearn told iFL TV. “Just talking about AJ-Fury, he said ‘What are you thinking?’ And I said ‘I don’t know.’
“We’re all up for discussing the fight. I don’t think there will be a significant site fee in July, but we’re still willing to look at the numbers. Or if you want to wait and do it later in the year, we’re up for that too.’ Who knows what’s going to happen with Usyk, with Wilder.”
Joshua had extra cause for concern going into the battle after failing to put on the comeback performance he was expecting for following back-to-back losses to Usyk. He continued to imply that playing one more game against a weaker opponent could be the best course of action.
“We’ve just got to decide what type of fight we want for July,” he continued. “Do we go straight into a massive fight now?”
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