Hearn confident fans will be excited for any heavyweight unification fight - even if Fury or Joshua miss out

Marc Mayo9 November 2021

Eddie Hearn believes boxing fans will hype up any fight to unify the heavyweight division - even if Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury were to miss out.

The Brits were in line for a seismic showdown earlier this year before an arbitration ruling demanded Fury face Deontay Wilder first. While the Gypsy King dispatched the Bronze Bomber, AJ suffered a shock defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.

Joshua now faces a rematch with the Ukrainian to claim back his world titles, for a second time, and Fury is set to face Dillian Whyte with Matchroom promoter Hearn predicting a winner-stays-on scenario.

“Dillian Whyte now looks like he will fight Tyson Fury, AJ faces Usyk and then I expect the winner to fight the winner for the undisputed [crown],” Hearn told the PA news agency.

“It could be Dillian Whyte against AJ, it could be Fury against AJ, it could be Usyk against Fury. Who knows?

“The hype will always be there and anything can happen, especially in the heavyweight division.”

On how soon a super-fight could be set up, Hearn added: “It is really only about money and timing.

“AJ was taking care of all his mandatory defences and ended up losing one of those because he wanted to fight for the undisputed championship.

“We will see if those belts remain in place: it’s a tough fight for Tyson Fury against Dillian Whyte, AJ has to beat Usyk and then it is going to be really interesting who comes out on top.”

Tyson Fury v Deontay Wilder
Getty Images

Hearn was speaking at a press conference ahead of Derek Chisora’s December 18 Manchester Arena rematch with Joseph Parker, whose ambitions to regain a world title could yet put him in the firing line of Joshua.

“Chisora is kind of past that stage of ‘What happens for Derek next?’,” said Hearn.

“Joseph Parker wants to win the world heavyweight title again. If he can win this fight he is going to be knocking on the door.

“For him certainly victory against Chisora would put his name in the hat as a worthy challenger for those belts.”

Additional reporting by PA Media.

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