Hearn insists Anthony Joshua wants Fury fight this year

Tyson Fury will be Anthony Joshua’s opponent of choice if he is restricted to one fight this year, promoter Eddie Hearn has said.

Joshua’s bout against Kubrat Pulev on 20 June at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Hearn hopes the fight can be rescheduled for July or August but if the delays go on beyond the summer and Joshua can only fight once, the promoter says his man would want his opponent to be Fury for an all-British heavyweight unification bout.

Hearn told Sky Sports: “If it starts kicking on beyond (the end of July), you get to a situation where if Joshua is only going to box once this year he’d like it to be against Tyson Fury.”

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Fury is expected to complete his trilogy with Deontay Wilder later in 2020, having dethroned the American in February, but Hearn is hopeful some negotiations could be possible.

“The situation is a little bit out of our hands,” he said. “If Bob Arum and Al Haymon (Fury and Wilder’s promoters) can talk and make Deontay Wilder wait a little bit we would love to go into that fight next.

“We are contractually bound to face Pulev who is with Bob Arum and there is a deal to be done. A lot depends on Deontay Wilder.”