“If There Wasn’t Any Belt on the Line How Bothered Are You” – Eddie Hearn Questions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua

The murmurs of an Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury dream clash had fans excited. They eagerly awaited an official announcement regarding the same. Now, however, the issue remains as to whether the bout will take place for all the belts or just some of them. This is because both boxers must make mandatory title defenses before the summer of 2021. This means that they could drop the titles thereby stripping the bout of its sheen. Eddie Hearn opened up on the same. 

Anthony Joshua- Tyson Fury will be huge even without the belts

In the iFL TV episode, Hearn discusses if the fight will be for all 4 belts. He says, “Will the fight be for the undisputed? I’d love it to be in an ideal world no?”

The Matchroom Sport MD is confident of the blockbuster showdown being a massive draw even without the belts. He says, “I’ll ask you this as a fight fan. If there wasn’t any belt on the line, how bothered are you? There’s nothing more than I would love to see AJ become the undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the world.”

Hearn goes on to claim that irrespective of who holds the belts the winner will proclaim themselves as the undisputed number one. 

“But if he beats Tyson Fury, you’re going to turn around anyway and say, ‘he’s the undisputed number one.’ So is that enough? Or would you rather see (one boxer holding all the belts)?” 

He emphasizes what he means by asking if fans would rather not see the fight because all the belts aren’t on the line. Hearn says that a large portion of the audience will only watch the fight for the spectacle. The promoter adds that they won’t be bothered about what’s on the line akin to a fraction of the hardcore audience who will be. 

‘The Gypsy King’ must face Deontay Wilder in a trilogy fight for the WBC Championship. ‘The Bronze Bomber’ remains the only boxer to deny Fury a win. However, he claimed an injury hampered him at their match earlier this year where he suffered a shambolic loss. 

Meanwhile, Joshua will fight IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev this year. In addition to this, the unified heavyweight champion has been formally ordered to fight WBO challenger Oleksandr Usyk. 

Given their form and mindset, it would be hard to see both Joshua and Fury not make their defenses successfully. However, in boxing, all it takes is one good punch to change the balance of a fight as well as subsequently planned match ups.

Do you see the Joshua-Fury clash as something that will retain its appeal without all Heavyweight belts on the line?