Joshua Slams Fury, Whyte Hits Backs, Eddie Hearn Defends Pay-Per-View

Anthony Joshua has slammed Tyson Fury’s conduct for the breakdown in talks over an undisputed fight with Oleksandr Usyk. 

Joshua’s comments were made amid his pre-fight presser with Dillian Whyte. While the focus should have been on ‘AJ’s’ current fight, the talks turned to the potential of facing Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia for the winner.

That is understandable given that the fight is reportedly worth $60 million for Joshua. However, the Brit shut down those suggestions by singling out Fury’s name as an example of what was wrong with the heavyweight division. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfDfR5XqX8I

"Forget Wilder and them lot. Them lot have been doing my head in for so many years. You lot have seen now the shenanigans in the heavyweight division.

"Even with Fury saying he was training for Oleksandr Usyk, then SugarHill Steward (his trainer) came out and said, ‘No, I’m not training him. What do you mean I’m training him for a heavyweight championship fight?’

"You can see all the lies that’s been going on, so I don’t really waste my time with time-wasters," Joshua

Joshua Frustrated

Joshua may have every right to feel aggrieved given the manner in which his dealings with Fury have materialised.

Prior to fighting Derek Chisora, Fury’s team had made a 60-40 offer to fight Joshua. However, given the short nature of the deadline that was reportedly on offer, Joshua’s camp could not get it over the line.

This led to suggestions from both sides that neither boxer was serious about the fight. Fury’s camp alleged that ‘AJ’ was looking to rebuild his career following his consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk.

Meanwhile, the perception was that Fury had used Joshua’s name for clout, given the short deadline that was imposed for the fight.

While there is nothing to suggest that a fight cannot be made later down the line, Joshua did express his frustration with what he believed to be fighters ducking each other. 

"I’m gonna be 34 this year, I’m moving on. I’m getting old now, you know what I mean? So just crack on while I’m here. I’m not really wasting time waiting for people, chasing people. The divisions messed up. Not through anyone’s fault.

"Even the ones that wanna step up aren’t even fighting each other. It’s just a crazy place where heavyweight boxing is. I think the division’s changed since I ain’t been champion if I’m honest, it’s slowed down a bit," Joshua

Whyte’s Outburst

Joshua’s opponent, Whyte, was in a bit more of a light-hearted manner. During the build up, Whyte could not help but call out what he believed to be an element of favouritism towards Joshua by Eddie Hearn.

It is true to say that Joshua has been a mainstay member of the Matchroom stable, given that he did leave Sky Sports to sign with DAZN once Hearn had left.

Not only that, but Joshua is seen as the main cash cow in the heavyweight division. And yet, that did not sit well with Whyte who embarrassed Hearn in front of a full media team. 

"You be bulls****ing, you went all the way to Dallas to see AJ and you didn’t come to Florida to see me…Can I ask you one question? What do AJ’s balls taste like," Whyte

Hearn On Pay-Per-View

Despite the anticipation for the fight on media day, the event has been criticised over the nature of the pay-per-view price.

DAZN was modelled on the basis that fans would no longer have to pay for pay-per-views, as they would have a subscription model.

However, not only has that been backtraced on, but it has also led to an increase in the price. In comparison to Whyte’s fight with Fury which cost £24.95 in the UK, the AJ-Whyte bout will cost fans £26.99.

The increase in price has been scrutinised on the grounds that there is no world title on the line, as both fighters seek to rebuild themselves.

In addition, given the current cost of living crisis in the UK, boxing fans have been forced to look for value at a time where the sport of boxing has been accused of not putting on the biggest fights. 

And yet, Hearn defended the price. 

"I think the last pay-per-view, I think it was Oleksandr Usyk, I think it was £29.99. Something like that?

"It is always around £24, £26, pay-per-view is pay-per-view. We have been there a million times.

"This fight is pay-per-view on any platform. The fact that it is on DAZN, it will be available on Sky as well and obviously, talkSPORT will be carrying it.

"It is a massive fight. It will have a massive undercard. We could have done it in a stadium, tickets go on sale next week," Hearn said

In reality, the O2 has had the fastest sell out for a boxing event when it comes to this AJ-Whyte bout. And that goes on to show that Joshua’s pulling power is still there. 

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