Eddie Hearn has always had incredible confidence in Anthony Joshua. But, after a poor run in 2022, the longtime promoter admitted that Joshua needed to start from scratch.
Being near the bottom of the heavyweight ladder, without a title, was Joshua’s worst nightmare. However, he lowered his head, bit down on his mouthpiece, and began to work.
Initially, Joshua didn’t look as strong against Jermaine Franklin, despite earning the victory. The same could be said of his victory over Robert Helenius a few months later. But while most were convinced Joshua’s best days were behind him, the 34-year-old wasn’t buying it.
In his most recent outing against Otto Wallin, Joshua told everyone who would listen that he would prove he was back to his normal self. However, many, including Hearn, were sceptical. That said, after blowing Wallin out of the water, Hearn not only believes his man is in shape, but he also has a strong feeling that he will land every major world title sooner rather than later.
“I truly believe that Anthony Joshua will become the undisputed heavyweight champion,” Hearn told Ariel Helwani.
On February 17, Hearn plans to open a bag of popcorn, take a front-row seat and watch Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk battle it out for all the heavyweight marbles. Hearn doesn’t care who wins, but if he had to guess, he would side with Fury.
If his fellow Brit takes care of business against Usyk and moves on to a showdown with Joshua, Hearn likes Joshua’s chances. However, the main reason Hearn is backing the former champion is simple.
Just a few months ago, Fury was expected to make things look easy against Francis Ngannou, a debuting former UFC champion. However, Fury, even though he won, looked horrible. That performance, combined with Joshua’s appearance recently, has Hearn floating on cloud nine.
Typically, Hearn is the one who stops and answers questions posed to him by members of the media and fans. This time, he had something he wanted to ask.
“In the wake of AJ vs. Otto Wallin and Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou, are you telling me you don’t fancy AJ vs. Fury?”
