Eddie Hearn said. sky sports Anthony Joshua has not agreed to fight in Africa this December and has set February as a ‘firm date’ for his next fight.
There has been speculation that Joshua could make his return fight in Africa, including in Ghana and Nigeria.
Joshua is from Nigeria and heavyweight contender Kingsley Ibeh was born in Nigeria. But Hearn poured cold water on suggestions the December fight had been agreed.
“Absolutely not (I agreed to fight in Africa). There are all kinds of rumors going around about Anthony Joshua at the moment,” Hearn told Sky Sports.
“As always in the boxing world, you’re probably 5% right and 95% wrong. The situation is that he’s in camp and has started training camp now. We’ve talked about the possibility of some kind of run-out fight this year.
“I think that’s becoming less likely as the days go by. February is a definite date for the AJ fight. Now we’ll see if it’s his second fight or his first fight back.
“Like I said, at this stage it looks like February will be his next fight, but we’ve said before that it’s going to be difficult for AJ because he’s been out of the ring for what will be a year and a half at that point and he’s being pushed back into a big arena or arena.
“It’s back to being a high-profile fight, a tough fight. We talked about the blessings of what would be an exhausting fight without that kind of pressure. And we just talked about the opportunity for him to wrap his hands and get back on his feet.”
“But he’s never really had a chance to do that. Unfortunately, that comes with the territory of Anthony Joshua. Right now he’s in training camp and very focused on coming back.
“We have an offer to fight AJ in Ghana. There is also an offer to fight AJ in Nigeria. Also, obviously we are in deep talks with Turki Al-Sheikh about a multi-fight deal that could include Tyson Fury, which would be the best case scenario.
“There are a lot of options, but what I can tell you right now is that he is back in full training camp and his mind is fully focused on getting back in the ring. That’s good news.”
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The Ringside Toe2Toe podcast panel discusses a potential fight between British heavyweight giants Joshua and Fury and which fighter needs more fights for his career.
Hearn: Joshua’s ultimate goal is to fight and take down Fury.
Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports on Thursday:
“I think the key is for him (Joshua) to have the best physical condition, mindset and drive to fight Tyson Fury.
“Now we can’t control what Fury does. What we know is his excellence (Turki Al-Sheikh). He wants to fight. And he has a very good record of fighting when he wants to. On our side, we are negotiating a deal to fight Tyson Fury. But more importantly, in the next 12 months. There is a plan to move forward.
“Until Tyson Fury makes a deal with Turki Al-Sheikh to fight Anthony Joshua, that deal is irrelevant. So there’s no reason to call him out. He’s his own man.
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Eddie Hearn has told Sky Sports News he is ‘hopeful’ for a fight between Anthony Joshua and Fury.
“If he wants a fight, he fights. I think he’s a competitor. If two people leave the sport without fighting each other, we’ll always blame ourselves and that would be a big shame. But they’re their own people. They’re their own people and they’ll make their own decisions. We’re involved.
“AJ wants it. I think he’s the only person Fury has talked to with any vitriol about wanting to do something against him. I want him to take him down, he really wants to do it, but we’ve got to do it right.
“We’ll always be kicking ourselves if we don’t get Fury, but we need someone big to say, ‘Let’s give the British public the fight they’ve always wanted.’”
