Eddie Hearn has revealed that Anthony Joshua ‘laughed’ when he first heard Tyson Fury‘s team had been in contact about making a fight between the pair. Despite insisting he would never entertain a match-up with Joshua again Fury is now pushing for the Battle of Britain to take place in September.
The Gypsy King is desperate to get back into the ring after six months of inactivity and has called out everyone with a pulse. While out in Australia supporting friend and training partner Joseph Parker for his recent first-round blowout of Faiga Opelu, the WBC heavyweight champion told Aussie media that he was open to fighting local stars Jai Opetaia and Demsey McKean next.
Meanwhile, the Mancunian has also been caught up in social media spats with the current heavyweight UFC champion Jon Jones and his predecessor Francis Ngannou. As a result, Joshua is taking Fury’s offer with a pinch of salt.
“I spoke to AJ, AJ laughed and said ‘isn’t he fighting Jai Opetaia, or Demsey McKean, or Jon Jones?’ I said no, they’re telling us they want to fight you, but we’re fighting in August and September, that’s our plan,” Hearn told iFL TV.
“I’ll go through the process and see how real this is. I believe George Warren, I think they’re in a really difficult spot, Tyson Fury. He wants big money fights and AJ is the money fight for him, but no back and forth, just ‘we’ll talk.’”
The current plan for Joshua is to fight Dillian Whyte in August followed by a blockbuster showdown with Deontay Wilder over in Saudi Arabia four months later. However, the Daily Mail reports that Whyte is unlikely to be AJ’s next opponent.
According to sources, Whyte, unlike Joshua, is not in camp and is therefore seemingly unavailable as the August 12 date draws near. Exactly who Joshua would otherwise box next is presently unclear.
It may be a case of reverting back to the original plan of sitting out until the back end of the year if the worst comes to worst. Otto Wallin and McKean were previously touted as potential opponents for Joshua ahead of his comeback fight in April although they were cast aside for Jermaine Franklin on the basis that they were southpaws.