Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua have enjoyed a great relationship since joining forces at the start of Joshua’s professional journey.
A long-time rival of Tyson Fury, Joshua may get his wish and face his fellow Brit later this year, but it’s now been revealed by Barry Hearn, Eddie’s father, that Matchroom almost signed fury before he turned pro.
An outstanding amateur who enjoyed multiple successes when fighting in the vest, Fury had several potential promoters chasing his signature before deciding on Mick Hennessey.
The current WBC champion would eventually make the move to Frank Warren and Bob Arum, but the elder Hearn has spoken about his early dealings with Fury.
“I’ll let you in on a secret that not very many people know; I nearly signed Tyson Fury years before he turned professional,” said Hearn when speaking to LuckyBlock.com.
“I was at a fight in Newcastle. Tyson – big lad, great name. That was my first reaction; big lad, great name. I could see money rolling in.
“John, his dad, said ‘my boy’s going to turn pro. He wants to sign with you. But we want a £100,000 signing fee.’ In those days, and this is going back a number of years, that was a lot of money. I mean, that was like Olympic champion stuff. This kid was untested, but obviously huge.”