Eddie Hearn Confident Anthony Joshua v Tyson Fury Will Happen In 2025
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is confident a heavyweight mega-bout between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will happen in 2025, regardless of the outcomes of their upcoming fights.
Joshua (28-3-0 25 KO) and Fury (34-1-1 24 KO) have been long-time rivals, regularly trading threats and insults through the media and on social media, but so far attempts to make the fight have failed.
The closest the pair got to finally agreeing a bout was in 2021 when they signed a lucrative two-fight deal that would have been for the undisputed title. At the time, AJ was the unified world champion while Fury held the WBC belt.
However, a court ruling decided that Deontay Wilder, whom Fury had beaten in a rematch to become a two-time world champion, had the legal right to request a trilogy bout. Fury knocked out the American again to retain his title, while Joshua lost to his WBO mandatory challenger, Oleksandr Usyk, and again in an immediate rematch 11 months later.
In the two years since, their paths have not crossed even as the insults and promises to knock each other out continued. That could be about to change as both prepare for massive upcoming fights.
Joshua returns to the ring against IBF title holder Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in London, England on September 21 when a victory will make him a three-time champion. Fury, meanwhile, faces Usyk in their rematch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia after losing their undisputed bout in May for his first professional defeat.
It creates the tantalizing possibility that if both AJ and Fury win, they could finally face each other for the undisputed title, and with the involvement of Saudi Arabia and Turki Alalshikh, agreeing terms will be easier than ever.
Even if one of them loses their upcoming fight, there will still be massive demand as the challenger would have the opportunity to become a three-time world champion. And Hearn believes the demand would still be there if they both lose.
“We will always kick ourselves if we don’t make Fury v AJ,” Matchroom Boxing boss Hearn, who represents Joshua, told iFL TV. “There’s no doubt that if Riyadh was around and His Excellency (Alalshkih) was around two years ago, AJ and Fury would’ve happened.
“It hasn’t and now we have two mega fights coming up: AJ against Dubois on September 21 and Fury against Usyk on December 21. If both of those guys (Joshua and Fury) win those fights, you’ve got the biggest fight in the history of the sport by a f***ing mile.
“If they don’t [both] win, you’ve got a mega fight. Imagine if AJ wins the world heavyweight title and Fury loses, Fury can challenge AJ for the title. If Fury wins and AJ loses, AJ can challenge for the world unified title. And if they both lose, they can fight for bragging rights forever.
“So, it’s massive and I don’t want to give people hope but you would think, right now with the way boxing is and the dynamic and strategic approach of His Excellency, that fight will happen next year. But, let’s just beat Dubois on September 21.”
Hearn also revealed that he and rival promoter Frank Warren are in discussions with Alalshikh to host another 5-vs-5 event. The inaugural show on June 1 that saw Hearn put forward five of his fighters against five from Warren’s Queensberry Promotions stable ended in a 10-0 sweep for Warren.
