Eddie Hearn says he doubts that Anthony Joshua will be ringside for the Fury vs. Usyk 2 rematch this Saturday night in Riyadh. He feels that AJ would rather sit on his sofa and enjoy the spectacle without the cameras on him being asked questions about the rematch.
Ringside Or Sofa?
It’s understandable why Joshua wouldn’t want to attend the fight. After losing twice to Usyk, going into a mental meltdown after the second defeat on August 20, 2022, sitting at ringside for his fight against Fury would be weird. To add to that.
After Joshua, 35, was reduced to meteor dust by Danel Dubois in his last fight on September 21st, keeping a low profile made sense. Some would view that as a typical psychological shame response to failure.
It would shake things up if Joshua did the unexpected by sitting at ringside and stealing the spotlight from the Fury vs. Usyk 2 winner by immediately jumping into the ring to call out whoever wins.
It would sap much of the attention away from them and pressure the winner to face him next. It would be ballsy on AJ’s part and a perfect theatrical way of creating interest. The move would show that Joshua isn’t afraid and is gunning for a big fight.
“I don’t think so. Possibly, but I don’t think so. You know, with AJ, this is Usyk and Fury,” said Eddie Hearn to Matchroom Boxing about whether Anthony Joshua will be ringside at the Kingdom Arena on Saturday night for the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 rematch in Riyadh.
“AJ is never going to jump in the ring. AJ is never going to scream and shout. If you ask him honestly, he’d prefer to sit on his sofa and watch and enjoy it. Rather than, ‘What do you think about this?’ with the cameras everywhere. So, we’ll see,” Hearn continued about whether Joshua will attend Fury-Usyk 2.
Joshua should be at the ringside because he needs to appear and throw his hat in the ring as a symbolic gesture to show his courage and that his latest KO defeat hasn’t ruined him.
Hearn’s Fury-Usyk 2 Prediction
“In the past, I didn’t think Fury was capable of doing extraordinary things. What he did in Germany against Klitschko was unbelievable. In Germany against Klitschko, unbelievable. Wilder, particularly Wilder 2. It was incredible,” said Hearn.
Eddie is going a bit overboard by blowing smoke up Fury’s backside by making a big deal about his win against an over-the-hill 39-year-old Wladimir Klitschko in Germany in 2015 and his wins over a badly flawed former paper champion, Deontay Wilder. Fury was 27 when he fought Wladimir, and a huge imblance in terms of where the two fighters were at this stage of theeri careers.
Hearn failed to mention that Wladimir was at the very end of his long career and had recently been blown out in two rounds by Corrie Sanders. Sanders looked a heck of a lot better beating the washed Wladimir than Fury did.
“I think he’s [Fury] guy kind of guy that has it in him to do something extraordinary, and this fight is about being extraordinary,” Hearn said about Fury’s rematch with Usyk. “The only way you win this fight is if you do extraordinary things.
“We know Usyk can. He’s done it his whole career. Tyson is capable of it, and I believe he’ll do it on Saturday night,” said Hearn, picking Fury to beat Usyk.
I don’t see Fury winning on Saturday night, apart from controversial scoring like in his fight against Francis Ngannou last year in Riyadh. Usyk is too good for Fury, and Tyson looks hellishly bad coming out of training camp for this fight.
