Eddie Hearn says he needs to defeat Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua to secure legacy
The promoter of former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua 25-3 (22) says WBC king Tyson Fury 33-0-1 (24) needs to defeat his boxer and WBA, WBO and IBF boss Oleksandr Usyk 20-0 (13) to truly be considered the best big man of his era, reports Anthony Cocks for Ring News 24.
“Tyson Fury is not always as truthful as he appears on Instagram. Timing is something. Television rights and partnerships are something. Instagram is something, ego is very much something,” Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn told Piers Morgan Uncensored.
“We have got to be honest. Tyson Fury cares about one thing only – the money. Don’t talk to me about legacy, don’t talk to me about undisputed. He has beaten [Wladimir] Klitschko and [Deontay] Wilder – that’s his wins.
“He needs to beat Usyk and AJ and then we can talk about him – as I believe he is – as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. Listen, he’s unbelievable. What he’s come back from, incredible, couldn’t commend him more.
“But to create a legacy, to create that history, to go down as a modern day great, to put yourself up with [Muhammad] Ali, Lennox Lewis, Joe Frazier, those guys, he’s got to beat Usyk. And he’s got to beat Anthony Joshua. But particularly Usyk.”
The 34-year-old Fury failed to reach a deal to face Ukrainian southpaw Usyk, 36, earlier this year and will now participate in a non-title bout against former UFC heavyweight champion and boxing debutant Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on October 28.
Meanwhile, Usyk will defend his three world championship belts against once-beaten Daniel ‘Dynamite’ Dubois 19-1 (18) in Poland on August 26.
Saudi promotional company Skills Challenge Entertainment [SEC] had an ambitious plan to host a heavyweight doubleheader in December with Fury and Usyk to face off in the main event, supported by Joshua versus Wilder.
“I think [Joshua vs Wilder] will be January, I’m not sure whether Fury vs Usyk gets made [on the same card],” Hearn told Boxing Social.
“I don’t expect the Ngannou fight will be so taxing that he can’t fight in January. But at the same time he would have done a training camp and also you don’t know if he wants the fight, which lots of people suggest he doesn’t.”
Joshua, 33, will be risking the fight against the 37-year-old Wilder 43-2-1 (42) when he rematches Dillian Whyte 29-3 (19) at the O2 Arena in London, England on August 12.
“The finalization of the Wilder fight is on hold until they [SEC] see what happens on August 12 and that’s the risk that we’re in,” Hearn explained.
“It’s a big risk, is it the right risk? We’ll find out, AJ wanted a real fight, he wasn’t motivated to take a lesser, smaller fight, but the Wilder fight will be dependent on victory at the O2 Arena on August 12.”
