Eddie Hearn: Joshua vs Fury Would Be the Biggest Fight in Boxing

Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn believes a showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury would eclipse every other bout in the sport, calling it “the biggest fight in boxing.”

“It would be a real, real shame if Tyson and AJ never fought. I don’t really have many regrets, but I think we would always kick ourselves if we never saw that fight. It’s the biggest fight in boxing,” Hearn told Sky Sports.

Joshua has not fought since his knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois a year ago, while Fury has been out of the ring since December 2024, when he suffered a second straight points loss to Oleksandr Usyk. Following that defeat, Fury announced his retirement, though Hearn remains optimistic the unified heavyweight champion will make a return.

“You can’t even compare anything that we’ve done so far – Carl Froch-George Groves, AJ-Wladimir Klitschko, Benn-Eubank. This is just completely different. It shuts down the country. They’re two very different but great fighters, two great personalities, two completely different individuals. For me, it’s a must,” he added.

“Tell me a bigger fight in boxing? It doesn’t exist. It’s not just fighting and beating Fury for AJ. It’s about giving the British public what they’ve wanted for so long.”

Joshua recently called Fury “dippy” on social media, a move Hearn says shows just how much the 35-year-old wants the fight.

“I love it, I like to see it. AJ’s always been a guy who has held his tongue. I think now, as he comes to the back end of his career, he’s almost like, ‘why not?’” Hearn said.

“He wants this fight. We want the fight, we’re ready to go, we’re ready to talk about it. This isn’t goading Tyson Fury, it’s just stating facts.”

According to Hearn, Joshua is targeting a tune-up fight in January or February, with Fury also likely to want one before any potential all-British clash.

“The good news is that AJ is recovered, injury-free and ready to start training camp. And he has got the bit between his teeth to get back in big fights in the heavyweight division. He’s fired up, and we still believe he’s got a lot to give. You can see across Fury’s social media, he’s training, which gives you hope. I think people around him feel like he’ll return, but you never know.”

Former undisputed champion Lennox Lewis has also thrown his weight behind the idea, saying the “whole world” wants to see Joshua and Fury square off.

When asked whether a loss to Joshua would damage Fury’s legacy, Hearn dismissed the notion.

“I’m not really a kind of legacy-damaged kind of guy. Ultimately, you take the fights, and if you’re good enough, you win, and if you’re not, you don’t. I don’t think you should worry about gambling on your legacy. The legacy comes through giving people great fights and fighting anybody. Personally, AJ wants to knock Fury out. But from a legacy perspective, the legacy is fighting everybody. AJ wants to be remembered as a guy that fought everybody.

“We definitely could have, we maybe should have, swerved Usyk, but the legacy comes from giving people great fights. If you want to be critical of Fury’s CV, it’s very easy. But at the same time, he’s a tremendous fighter. Let’s find out who is the biggest name and best Brit of that generation.”