'Call me deluded' – Eddie Hearn predicts Anthony Joshua will KO Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury before retiring from boxing
11/09/2023 18:29
Eddie Hearn continues to be Anthony Joshua's most loyal supporter, and thinks his man will go out with a bang.
The boxing promoter, who has worked with AJ since his professional boxing debut in 2013, believes his star client is just a few fights away from retiring from the sport.
However, Hearn is confident that before that happens Joshua will pick up massive knockout wins as an underdog against Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.
The 44-year-old also predicts Joshua will become the first fighter in history to hold all four major heavyweight titles, three of which are currently in the possession of Oleksandr Usyk, who has beaten him twice.
Hearn told talkSPORT: "I never like to put a timescale on his career, but he did the other day when he said, 'You know, I won’t be boxing in three [or] five years' time.'
"So, maybe we've got one in December and maybe we've got a couple of blockbusters next year. And then who knows? I don't think he's really got a timing on his career, but he wants to fight Wilder, and he wants to fight Fury.
"I think if he doesn't fight them, he won't be very happy and fulfilled with everybody he fought. Once he fights those two, he's boxed absolutely everyone in the division, all the players.
"I am Anthony Joshua's number one fan. In my head, call me deluded, he's going to knock out Deontay Wilder, and then he's going to knock out Tyson Fury.
“He's going to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion and then we are going to sail off into the sunset. Like I said, call me deluded, whatever you want, I don't care what you call me!
“I see it. We have the vision for that. Let's make it happen."
Hearn is currently trying to make a fight between Joshua and Wilder but that scrap may be temporarily shelved for an interim bout in December if talks don't progress quickly.
Fury, who is the WBC champion, will face former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a crossover exhibition fight in Saudi Arabia on October 28.
It was hoped he'd box Usyk in an undisputed fight next, but he could be ordered to face Joshua or Wilder instead after it was revealed they are now the WBC's top two ranked heavyweight contenders.
Hearn was speaking to talkSPORT at the 2023 BGC charity day where celebrities hit the trading floor to raise money for good causes.
On Charity Day, 100 per cent of BGC Group's global revenues are donated to the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund and dozens of other charities around the world.
