Eddie Hearn has warned Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury that they risk losing their money-spinning showdown altogether if either loses their respective tune-up fight. The two heavyweight icons finally agreed to meet in the ring last month after a decade of verbal sparring.
Joshua's Return and Fury's Comeback
Joshua is expected to return to competitive action against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25. Providing the Brit comes away unscathed, 'AJ' is expected to face his long-time rival in November. Fury ended his year-long retirement last month by outpointing Arslanbek Makhmudov in front of over 60,000 fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Morecambe scrapper quickly issued a call-out to Joshua, who was sitting ringside, but 'AJ' refused to enter the squared-circle, disappointing boxing fans.
Hearn's Warning
With Joshua set to return this summer, Fury's promoter Frank Warren revealed that his star client is also eyeing one more fight before taking on the former two-time heavyweight champion to get extra rounds under his belt. But Hearn warned that neither can afford to lose. "In my opinion, if either fighter loses, you cannot do the fight," Hearn told Sky Sports. "I will feel sick at the ringwalk on July 25. Especially with what AJ's come back from. There is that worry. Will he be the same? Everything we see in camp and in sparring lends us to suggest yes. But there's a lot to overcome."
He added: "Now we have signed to fight Tyson Fury. He has signed to fight Anthony Joshua. The only thing that stands in the way is July 25." Hearn is hoping Fury will be ringside for Joshua's return fight against Prenga in Riyadh. 'AJ' has not fought since knocking out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in December.
Joshua's Recent Setbacks
The 36-year-old was due to fight back in February but was forced to take time away after being involved in a horrific car crash in Nigeria, which resulted in the deaths of close friends Kevin Ayodele and Sina Ghami, just days after his win over Paul. With Fury eager for another fight, Hearn admits he would be all for the 'Gypsy King' having his bout on the same billing as Joshua in Riyadh. "We don't have a problem with that. That's down to Turki [Alalshikh] to see where he wants to land. It might be difficult for Fury to go underneath Joshua on that card, I don't know," Hearn said.
He continued: "I don't think he [Fury] is going to be having a fight of any significance, not even the likes of Makhmudov. I don't even think they'd have a fight at that level. They've got to do what they've got to do. They've just had 12 good rounds, and we look forward to hopefully less rounds than that but going through the gears and warming up for the big one. I think everybody's extremely focused, now that both fighters have signed, on just getting through the next couple of months and making sure we can give the world this mega-event."
