Eddie Hearn proposes blockbuster four-man heavyweight tournament to crown undisputed champion
Eddie Hearn has proposed a blockbuster four-man heavyweight tournament to determine an undisputed champion.
The undisputed showdown between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk collapsed amid prolonged discussions.
Both camps failed to agree terms for an April 29 bout at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
Fury and Usyk will now go their separate ways and defend their respective title/titles later this year.
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But Anthony Joshua's promoter, Hearn, has suggested a four-man tournament to crown an undisputed heavyweight king.
He's proposed the idea of Fury vs. Joshua and Usyk vs. Deontay Wilder, with the winners then facing each other.
The Matchroom chief tweeted: "If Fury v Usyk doesn’t get made..and AJ gets past Franklin..Fury v AJ, Wilder v Usyk - winner v winner for Undisputed."
Of course, Joshua needs to first get past Jermaine Franklin on April 1. But should he win, Hearn is eyeing a massive opponent for his next contest.
As for Wilder, he hasn't fought since his one-round demolition of Robert Helenius. His victory last year snapped a two-fight losing skid to Fury.
The American is eyeing a big showdown, with his manager Shelly Finkel calling for a fight against Usyk.
Hearn, meanwhile, wants to match Joshua against Fury and claims the bout is 'financially twice as big' as Fury vs. Usyk.
"I reckon they’ll get a deal done, but if they don’t get a deal done, I want to sit down with George Warren and make Tyson Fury against Anthony Joshua straight after the AJ-Franklin fight on April the 1st," he told iFL TV.
"We have the terms agreed. Financially, the fight is twice as big as Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk. We would sign that fight now subject to victory against Franklin.
"But all eyes on April 1st. We need to see how he looks, and we need and he needs to get that win.
"Deontay Wilder wants all kinds of fights. He just went out to Saudi to see what’s out there really,” Hearn added when he was told that 'The Bronze Bomber' wanted to face Uysk.
"He’s looking for the big fights. I don’t believe he beats Oleksandr Usyk at all. I’d like to see it. It’s a good fight. Wilder is another guy that if AJ comes through April 1 that he’s someone he should be looking to fight in 2023 as well."
You can watch every Anthony Joshua fight, live and exclusive on DAZN.com.
Topics: Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua, Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Boxing
Nasir Jabbar