“I know many people that were there” - Eddie Hearn clears the air on rumors of Jai Opetaia dropping Tyson Fury in sparring
Tyson Fury is less than a month away from his undisputed heavyweight title clash with Oleksandr Usyk, set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
'The Gypsy King' is already in the Middle East preparing for his clash and recently flew over Jai Opetaia, the undefeated IBF and The Ring cruiserweight champion, as one of his sparring partners.
After completing only five rounds with Fury, the surging Australian prospect flew back home, and rumors began circling that he had knocked the WBC champion down during their spar.
Eddie Hearn, Opetaia's promoter, has now comprehensively denied the rumors. The Matchroom Boxing chairman pointed to the lack of orthodox sparring partners as the reason for his client's departure, as he himself is preparing for a fight on the same card as Fury.
Hearn was recently interviewed by Seconds Out, where he said this:
"Jai Opetaia did not drop Tyson Fury. Jai Opetaia flew in, he did five rounds with Tyson Fury, Jai will alway try and take everyone's head off. I know many people that were there at the spar. Even Jai and his team confirmed that it's absolute nonsense. He decided to go home because he's fighting Mairis Briedis, who is an orthodox fighter, and in the [Fury] camp there's about 8 southpaws sparring Tyson."
He continued:
"After going, and thinking about the prep he needed, he decided to not stay too long."
Catch Eddie Hearn's comments below (6:00):
Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua would be boxing's "biggest ever fight", says Eddie Hearn
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will face off on Feb. 17 to decide the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
The pair will clash in Saudi Arabia, with fellow heavyweight boxing stars Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou set to meet in the ring in Riyadh the following month, on Mar. 8.
According to Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, he has been informed that the winners of Fury vs. Usyk and 'AJ' vs. Ngannou will likely face each other next. Hearn was recently interviewed by Boxing Social, where he said the following:
"One of the big reasons we're taking the fight is that we've been told by his Excellency that the winner of [Joshua vs. Ngannou] fights the winner of Fury vs. Usyk."
He continued:
"So we get a straight shot at undisputed [champion status]. And if Fury beats Usyk, which I hope he does, and we beat Ngannou, you've got self-made the biggest fight arguably in the history of the sport."
Catch Eddie Hearn's comments below (5:20):