Given Eddie Hearn’s long-time allegiance to Anthony Joshua, the idea of him signing Tyson Fury now seems like something from the Twilight Zone.
However, it is no secret that Hearn held talks with Fury about a potential deal during his sabbatical from the sport due to mental health issues, however ‘The Gypsy King’ would go on to link-up with Frank Warren’s Queensberry instead.
Had the now 35-year-old signed with Matchroom, both he and arch-rival Joshua would have been under the same promotional banner.
And in a recent interview with GRM Daily, Hearn explained that the idea of this was enough to put him off signing Fury.
The Brentwood man admitted he was fearful agreeing terms with ‘AJ’s nemesis could fracture their relationship.
“For me, you get to a point where you want to have relationships and journeys, you want to make money, but the journey I’ve been on with AJ, we’ll never forget, and I don’t want to fall out with him because I signed Tyson Fury.
“The one thing about my relationship with AJ is it’s real. We’re honest with each other, we’re on a level with each other, we’d never lie to each other.
“It only takes one line at a presser when I’m up there with Tyson Fury and I go, ‘this guy’s the best heavyweight in the world’ and then he’s like ‘what?’ That can all change.
“He came to see me in Monaco once when he was at his worst, 27 stone, sweating. What he came back from was remarkable, I sat with him and didn’t believe he’d get back to where he did.
“But also, I thought how can I put my heart and soul into you when I’ve got this guy and I really want him to beat you.”
Fans could be forgiven for hoping Fury did sign with Hearn, as perhaps they would have by now seen the long-overdue domestic grudge match between the Morecambe man and Joshua.
There has been talk that the historic clash could take place in 2025, however this would depend on both men coming through their upcoming fights with Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk respectively.
