Eddie Hearn is letting Tyson Fury and the fans know that Anthony Joshua is NOT Deontay Wilder, and he’s not going to be dominated in the same way he was by the ‘Gypsy King’ last year in their rematch.
Hearn says Joshua can fight on the inside and outside, so it’s not going to be nearly as simple for Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) to fight the same way against him as he did against Wilder.
Fury fought Wilder mostly at a medium distance in their rematch, and he was able to get away with this because he hurt him early. Wilder was out of it from the third round on after getting clipped with a right-hand shot behind the ear.
From that point on, the 273-pound Fury used his 42-lb weight advantage over the 231-lb Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) to bully him. Can Fury use the same tactics against Joshua? It won’t be easy, especially if Joshua starts unloading with uppercuts in close.
The worst thing Fury can do is try and fight Joshua on the inside or even at a medium distance.
IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) and WBC champ Fury are still in negotiations for the first of two fights in 2021. The match will take place in a foreign country, whether neither guy will have an advantage.
Joshua is NOT Deontay Wilder
“I think it’s a tremendous fight on so many different levels, not just stylistically. But in terms of the two characters. They’re both very different,” said Hearn to the Pug & Copp Boxing Show about Joshua vs. Fury.
“Tyson Fury has been fighting virtually since he came out of the womb, and Anthony Joshua picked up boxing at a late stage and had a limited amateur career, but it did involve Olympic gold and a silver and a world champion.
“AJ, for me, is someone that impresses me more and more every day, and spending time with Canelo Alvarez, the two are very similar in terms of mindset, love of the sport, and their willingness to improve, and their willingness to create a legacy.
“I agree, it’s a very tough fight [Joshua vs. Fury] to call, it’s 50-50, but I give my man [Joshua] the edge. I believe he has the speed and the power. Styles do make fights, and Fury is going to be tricky for anyone.
“But AJ is not Deontay Wilder. You’re not going to be able to bore him off and keep him at bay. This [Joshua] is a big, strong heavyweight that likes to fight on the inside, likes to fight on the outside.
“His jab is underrated, his feet are underrated, all of these things, and he punches very hard. He needs to get in there and amongst it, and he needs to set it off on Tyson Fury early in the fight,” said Hearn.
Fury’s last couple of fights against Wilder and Otto Wallin has created a whole new fighter who likes to use his size to bully his smaller opponents.
It’s worked for Fury so far because Wallin had no power, and Wilder proved to be weak on the inside. Without his leverage on his shots, Wilder was a below-average fighter when Fury had him in close.
Hearn: Joshua will stop Fury
“I do believe he’ll stop him [Fury], and I do believe these guys could fight ten times, and you’d get different results each time, who knows?” said Hearn.
“What’s going to matter is that first time and that second time, but I just believe AJ is getting better and better. The best time to fight AJ is now rather than in two, three, four fights time because he’s going to be even better by then.
“For a long time, I’ve believed that he’s the best heavyweight in the world, and I believe he knocks Tyson Fury out. I know that Fury got up from the Wilder shot, the two-shot combination, which he road really well.
“None of those shots hit him particularly clean. They were still heavy shots, but you’ve seen him [Fury] down against [Steve] Cunningham, and you’ve seen him hurt in other fights.
“AJ is a different kind of beast. If he has you hurt, he’s not going to let you go. He [Joshua] tried not to let him [Andy Ruiz Jr] off the hook. It’s not as if he decided to let him off the hook.
“He walked into a left hand that somehow hit him on the sweetest spot on the temple,” said Hearn.
It stands to reason that if Joshua can land his uppercuts on Fury the way he did against his last opponent Kubrat Pulev, he’ll make short work of him.
The uppercuts that Joshua was nailing Pulev with repeatedly would do serious damage to Fury, making it impossible for him to stay upright for long.
Interestingly, Joshua is finally using his uppercut as a weapon, as he’s largely kept that punch dormant since his victory over Wladimir Klitschko in 2017.
Joshua should have been using it all this fight because it would have his fights against the likes of Andy Ruiz Jr so much easier.
Joshua goes into Fury fight as the underdog
“I like it because the jury for some reason remains out on Anthony despite what he’s achieved, despite his resume, and he goes into this fight as the underdog, the betting underdog, and I like that, I love that. It gives him the bit between the teeth,” said Hearn.
“The great thing about this fight [Joshua vs. Fury], the belts are great. I went back and forward with WBC president Sulaiman last night about an article where I said, ‘Maybe the belts evaporate in a fight like this [Fury vs. Joshua],’ and the governing bodies have to be careful because there’s a lot of risk in boxing right now for the promoters and the people that are putting up the money.
“The governing bodies remain intact, taking their percentage. I don’t think he [Mauricio Sulaiman] liked that very much, but a huge amount of respect for Mauricio and the belts, but this fight, it just tells you who is the best, doesn’t it?
“There are no arguments. If Anthony Joshua wins this fight, you have to sit there and say he’s the best heavyweight in the world and vice versa for me.
“If it doesn’t go our way, Tyson Fury is the best heavyweight in the world. But this is the first time in a long time that you can generally say it, and that for me is bigger than the belts.
“That’s about proving who is the best, who is the baddest man on the planet,” said Hearn.
Fury’s victory over Wilder last year has impressed many boxing fans, and obviously, it’s made an impact on the odds-makers as well.
