Hearn reveals how he tried to sign Tyson Fury… but Gypsy King ‘knew he’d be behind Anthony Joshua in pecking order’
EDDIE HEARN has revealed his efforts to sign Tyson Fury were partly scuppered by his friendship with Anthony Joshua.
The Matchroom Boxing chief held talks with The Gypsy King about making a comeback in Monaco in 2017 but wasn’t totally convinced he’d pick himself up from the depths of depression and addiction.
Hearn was ultimately proven wrong the following year, although he believes Fury was aware he’d play second fiddle to AJ if he joined Matchroom.
The British boxing supremo told GQ: “Tyson Fury isn’t the biggest draw in boxing. AJ still is.
“But yes – he’s a huge star. But I am loyal to AJ, and I think Fury knew that when I was discussing signing him when he was 400lbs.
“He knew AJ would be my number one, and that would have been difficult. But you never know what could happen in the future.”
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The long-awaited Battle of Britain between Fury and Joshua could very well have already happened if the retired WBC heavyweight champ were in Hearn’s stable.
But Hearn doesn’t lament his decision not to sign the Wythenshawe warrior
He told Boxing Social in January: “I honestly never regret anything.
‘”I think it’s hard because AJ [Anthony Joshua] is a very close friend of mine and to have those guys together… I always wanted those guys to fight and for AJ to be our guy.
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“With Tyson, I flew him out to Monaco and he was 26 stone. He was sitting where you are, he was sweating and I just thought to myself, ‘You ain’t ever fighting again.’
“The plan was to have two easy fights, by that we meant Sefer Seferi and those kind of guys which he had, but then have a step up and fight a Manuel Charr or someone like this.
“Now, if I would have known that he would have gone Sefer Seferi, someone else and then Deontay Wilder, I would have been all over it.”
Hearn has received numerous pelters from Fury over the years but insists he has no ill will towards the Brit.
He said: “I have a huge amount of respect for Tyson Fury. People sometimes get it mixed because sometimes I’ll say this and he’ll say that.
“But this is a guy that done something that certainly most couldn’t do, or that I couldn’t do, which was get himself from a physical position where he was finished, done – to not just fighting fit, but to go and win the world heavyweight championship.
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“I never really say anything bad about Tyson Fury, sometimes I have thought he wasn’t the best heavyweight in the world.
“He’s gone on to prove to me that, right now, on paper he’s the number one heavyweight in the world.”