Eddie Hearn believes Fury vs Joshua cannot get over the line in two weeks despite opening talks after Anthony Joshua agreed to fight on December 3rd.
Back-and-forth negotiations began last month, with two British heavyweights agreeing on a date and terms. Initially, they both had their agendas for fights at the end of the year.
But after the date and terms were set, contracts began to be exchanged. The UK fans hoped that a deal could be done quickly.
However, after being engaged in those talks and getting the British public to believe the fight could happen this year, both sides struggled to finalize.
Eddie Hearn needs more time
Hearn now says he needs more time than the weeks already passed, even though AJ said he would fight Fury on Dec 3.
With eight weeks to go and Tyson Fury in camp, the fight is now dead in the water.
“The fact is huge fights like this don’t get made in two weeks. That’s the reality,” Hearn told talkSPORT Breakfast. “You know, when two guys have huge commercial deals with different broadcasters, it takes time.
“We worked away with George Warren [Frank Warren’s son]. It was actually going very, very well.
“But then Tyson Fury put us on the clock, on a 48-hour clock, where the contract was nowhere near ready.
“He told us the fight was off. Two days later, Queensberry popped over and said, ‘Oh no, it’s not; we’ve convinced him.”
“Then he gives us another day. But you know these things take time.”
Fury vs Joshua frustrations
On accusations Joshua is ducking the fight to avoid a third straight defeat, Hearn added: “You should look at AJ’s resume to know that he’s never ducked one fight.
“I work for Anthony Joshua. So when he instructs me to make a fight, and when he agrees to terms, I don’t pull out of those terms or try and go the other way.
“Bob Arum said, I thought two or three weeks ago, ‘There’s no chance in the world this fight gets made.’ Then yesterday came out and said, ‘No, everything’s agreed; it’s just Eddie Hearn’s fault.’
“So I’m the easy one to blame. And even when there’s a bad fight, I get the blame. And I’ve got used to it now. I don’t mind.”
Certainly, Hearn is taking the blame from the side of Fury after Warren said conversations stopped on the part of the Matchroom Boxing boss.
Hearn is the only one saying more time is needed despite the initial agreement. It’s turning into playground antics that see the fans as the ones who suffer.
Boring and regretful
At this point, Fury vs Joshua has become the most boring fight discussion in recent memory. And it’s not the first time the fans were teased only for the fight to get shot down.
If Joshua loses again in the meantime, he’d be lucky to get another offer from Fury or any heavyweight title for the remainder of his career.
They should have bitten Fury’s hand off and went all out to make the fight happen. Time will tell, but it looks like a wrong decision, not even trying.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay.
WBN Editor Phil Jay has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews, Instagram, and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
