Eddie Hearn has claimed that Anthony Joshua ALWAYS wanted to fight Oleksandr Usyk again.
Hearn was one of the most vocal when it came to providing fans with updates over the proposed step aside plans.
There appeared to be a desire on their side of negotiations to accept a lucrative lump sum and allow Tyson Fury to fight Oleksandr Usyk, rather than AJ facing him in the contracted rematch.
That would allow Joshua time to bed in with a new trainer and give him a guaranteed shot at the undisputed heavyweight champion later in the year. However, it wasn’t to be.
Negotiations fell through and Joshua has now been forced into the Usyk rematch, with fans left unsure if he REALLY wanted to fight the Ukrainian for a second time.
MORE: Dillian Whyte set firm deadline to sign Tyson Fury fight agreement
Hearn, however, insists that Joshua has never changed from his position that he wants the Usyk fight and he’ll beat him again, trainer or no trainer.
Eddie Hearn on Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua II: “That’s the fight AJ wanted. When I sat down with him about step-aside, he just said, ‘I’ll beat Usyk.’ I said, ‘You haven’t started working with your new trainer yet.’ He said, ‘I’ll beat him without a trainer.'” [@MMAFighting]
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) February 2, 2022
We’ll be taking that with a pinch of salt…
