"AJ is his own boss"- Eddie Hearn opens up on Anthony Joshua not accepting the step-aside deal

Eddie Hearn (left) and Anthony Joshua (right)

Eddie Hearn has opened up on Anthony Joshua not agreeing to a step-aside deal that would have opened the door for Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to collide.

In an interview with talkSPORT, the Matchroom Boxing CEO praised his fighter for not accepting the money. He spoke about why Joshua did not take the offer and how hard it is for any fighter to do that:

"But ultimately AJ is his own boss he's gonna make the decision. And everytime I spoke to him about stepping aside, it was something that, you know, for a fighter to do that , it's kinda like you have to walk down. He said, I have to walk down the street with people knowing I've swerved this fight and that's now what I do."

Take a look at the interview below:

Joshua declined the step-aside money and focused all his attention on training for a rematch against Usyk, with his hope being to avenge his 2021 loss to the Ukrainian.

He will now take on Usyk again with all the belts on the line. The interesting thing about this fight is that it will not contain a rematch clause, so the winner is free to do what they want.

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The reason both parties decided to do this is so that they can set-up a mega-fight for all the belts against the winner of the Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte fight. The rematch will set the victor up to contest for the title of undisputed Heavyweight Champion.

Eddie Hearn and Jake Paul tease each other during interview

Eddie Hearn and Jake Paul recently pulled each other's legs during an interview with IFL TV.

🎯 April 30

🤝 @EddieHearn @KatieTaylor @Serranosisters @jakepaul

#TaylorSerrano #ForHistory https://t.co/LiQPNMRdio

The pair are currently in London for the Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor press conference. The two seem to have struck up quite a friendship while promoting the fight.

The interviewer asked Paul if he knows what a "plonker" means, which is what Eddie Hearn called 'The Problem Child'. Paul replied:

"Nah he's like it's a friendly term. I'm like, it doesn't sound like a friendly term, it sounds like plunger. Eddie, I think what Eddie does is he complements me and then he says I'm sh*t because he still wants to appeal to the boxing purists."

Take a look at the interview below: