Joshua to face Kevin Johnson at the O2 in January…
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Promoter Eddie Hearn has discussed his exciting plans for 2015 involving the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tony Bellew and Paul Smith as well as sharing his opinion on the Bad Blood show on Saturday night.
Joshua came face-to-face with Kevin Johnson on Wednesday afternoon ahead of their bout on January 31 at the O2 in London as he looks to extend his record to 11-0 ahead of some big domestic fights next summer.
Hearn believes that the Olympic champion could be ready to face Tyson Fury if he comes through the Johnson test and he is confident that his man will have enough to beat his domestic rival after watching Fury’s win over Dereck Chisora on Saturday night.
“We are moving towards the inevitable, which is a fight with Fury and the other top domestic fighters. It’s going to be great times for British boxing,” Hearn wrote in his Daily Mail column.
“People ask if AJ is ready to fight Fury but, to be honest, is Fury ready to fight AJ? I believe this is a fight that will bring both men to new levels in terms of financial rewards. It’s a numbers game and these numbers add up.”
Joshua will look to become the first man to stop Johnson in January, with the likes of Fury, Chisora and Vitali Klitschko previously unable to avoid going 12 rounds with the American.
Meanwhile, Hearn also revealed that he is looking to get Bellew a title shot next year against either WBO champion Marco Huck or the IBF title holder Yoan Hernandez.
Hearn believes that the Merseysider is the top attraction in the cruiserweight division after he settled his feud with Nathan Cleverly last month, and he is hopeful that he will be able to bring either champion over to the UK for the fight with Goodison Park a possible venue.
In addition, Hearn suggested that he is close to securing Smith a rematch with Arthur Abraham after his controversial loss earlier this year.
Smith lost on a contentious points decision in September, but he is expected to get another opportunity to take Abraham’s super-middleweight title away from him on February 21 in Berlin.
Meanwhile, the Matchroom boxing promoter shared his opinion on Saturday’s Bad Blood event and noted that there were various reasons to be disappointed with the show, particularly the main event which failed to live up to expectations.
“I watched the main event from the show at the ExCel at the weekend and I have to say Fury-Chisora was one of the dullest heavyweight fights I have seen. With the fight starting well past midnight and many missing their transportation home, boos rang out after only a few rounds as the crowds started to disperse.”
Nevertheless, Hearn expects Chris Eubank Jr to regroup and come again after his loss to Billy Joe Saunders but hinted that Eubank Sr is perhaps doing him little favours in getting so involved and making brash statements such as his son being capable of beating Gennady Golovkin.
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