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Fury fight is ‘straightforward’ for Joshua says Hearn

If and when Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua meet in the ring it will be an easy win for the 2012 Olympic gold medalist claims Matchroom chairman Barry Hearn.

Joshua [16(16)-0] defends his IBF crown, which he won following the strap being stripped from unified and lineal champ Fury, on Saturday night on Sky Sports Box Office against the seemingly overmatched Dominic Breazeale at the O2 Arena in London.

Following this fight Joshua looks likely to face mandatory challenger Joseph Parker of New Zealand, but afterwards is looking towards a clash with the Manchester man – regardless of whether or not Fury still holds a belt at that stage.

And Hearn is confident that Joshua will not be beaten by the former Irish heavyweight champion, or any other fighter for that matter, telling Sky Sports News that “I can’t see anyone beating him. I think the kid is outstanding and I think he’s got a lot of improvement left in him yet.

“Even as he is today, he’s the best heavyweight in the world.”

“What he’s going to be like in two years’ time is frightening.”

Fury faces Klitschko in a rematch at the Manchester Arena on July 9th, a contractual obligation which saw him lose the IBF portion of his crown that Joshua now holds. In their first meeting in Duesseldorf last November, Fury convincingly beat the dominant Ukrainian who had ruled the heavyweight division for eleven years.

Hearn, however, seemed to question the validity of the win, reasoning that “Tyson had an amazing result to beat Klitschko, but you have to say that Klitschko only threw five punches in the entire fight.”

“If the real Klitschko turns up, Tyson could have a problem.

“If Klitschko turns up, he could make Tyson look silly.”

With a Joshua-Fury Wembley clash a possibility for next Summer, 68 year old Hearn admits that “I would rather he won [v Klitschko], because it’s even bigger. It’s an 80,000 sell out at Wembley, it’s a million pay-per-view buys, plus the global, because it’s a great fight to watch.”

And the veteran English promoter feels that the fight will be an easy one for his man, whose frightinging punching power has seen him rack up less than 80 minutes of competitve action. Hearn claims that “I know the Joshua camp really want that fight.”

“It’s a very straightforward fight for Joshua, very straightforward.”

“I think Fury is made for Joshua, because of the way he boxes, the way he stands.

“He’s not a great big puncher and he can’t take a shot. That’s my view. I mean [Steve] Cunningham dropped him. When a cruiserweight puts you on your ass, you have to ask some serious questions.

“But he’s very engaging, he’ll sell the fight, and it will be a massive, massive fight.”

Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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