Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is upset with Bob Arum after his dire “dead in the water” talk of the Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight in an interview on Thursday.
Arum said the Saudi site deal isn’t going to be done soon, and the fight won’t be happening by the originally planned July or August date that Hearn was aiming for.
After hearing the comments from Arum, Joshua’s promoter Hearn was furious, and he says he thinks he’s “lost the plot” and has become “irrational.”
Hearn says he wants Arum to stop talking down the fight, and let him and the lawyers complete the arduous task of getting the form done in the next week.
During an interview this week, Arum was asked if he would be interested in negotiating a fight between Fury and Deontay Wilder instead of Joshua, he seemed to be open to that idea.
Shortly after that, Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) posted a video of him and his trainer Malik Scott working out, and it’s gotten a lot of attention. Wilder looks outstanding right now, and clearly in better shape than Fury.
If Arum is interested in getting Fury back into the ring as soon as possible, Wilder might be the best bet if the Saudi deal continues to drag on.
Hearn upset with Arum’s negative talk
“It’s completely irrational,” said Hearn to Behind The Gloves in reacting to Bob Arum’s “Dead in the water” comments he made on Thursday about the Joshua vs. Fury fight.
“I think it’s just boring now, but he’s [Arum] on the rampage. But it also doesn’t help with our site partner [in Saudi Arabia], saying, ‘What is this guy [Arum] talking about.’
“We know Bob tried to do that Pacquiao-Crawford Middle East deal, and it fell through. It doesn’t mean we can’t do a deal. I don’t want to rub Bob the wrong way, but I’m talking about unity.
“Crawford against Spence, Joshua against Fury, these are the fights that we have to make. So at least go through the process to try and make. It’s almost like they [Arum] don’t want it to succeed,” said Hearn.
It’s difficult to know which of the two promoters are right in this situation.
It could be that Arum, the guy with way more experience than Hearn as a promoter, realizes that the Saudi deal is going to take all summer to get done, and he wants his fighter Fury to get back in the ring.
On the other hand, if Arum is too impatient with the glacial pace of getting the Saudi deal done, he may be too hasty in abandoning the deal.
However, if it does take all summer to complete, it favors Joshua because he fought last December. He doesn’t have the same ring rust problem as Fury.
Eddie wants Arum to show “unity”
“The last time I talked to him was Friday of last week. I really don’t want to take to him at the moment,” said Hearn about Arum.
“The lawyers are dealing with the situation to get this over the line. It’s time to have a clear head and a focus on what we’re doing.
“It’s not the time to be irrational and emotional and to operate on ego. With everything he’s saying, it makes me want to go, ‘You know what? Don’t worry about it,’ but I can’t do that.
“I’ve got to deliver for AJ, and he’s got to deliver for Fury. So as far as I’m concerned, I’ve got a job to do.
“I’m under the instructions of my boss, which is Anthony Joshua. That generation can’t get it through their head, Tyson Fury is Bob Arum’s boss.
“Get Bob Arum to say, ‘Tyson Fury is my boss.’ I’ve got a job to do, and that’s, don’t stop until you get this done. So it’s just unity,” said Hearn about Arum needing to stay on the same page as him.
Arum wants Fury to get back in action because there’s more of a pressing need for him than there is for the Hearn-promoted Joshua.
