Eddie Hearn, promoter Anthony Joshua, is not fully convinced that WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is ready for his trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder, which takes place on October 9 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Last weekend at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Joshua suffered an upset decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk, who walked away with the WBA, WBO, IBO, IBF titles.
The unexpected outcome derailed a potential Fury-Joshua unification - which both sides were targeting for the first half of 2022.
Joshua will now have a rematch with Usyk in February or March.
But, Fury being defeated could add a much longer delay to a fight with Joshua.
While Hearn still expects Fury to win, he admits there is a lot of danger involved.
"Tyson Fury doesn’t look ready, in my opinion,” Hearn said during an interview with Boxing Social. “I still think he’ll win comfortably, but it does throw in the likelihood of a mistake happening.
"If you make a mistake against Deontay Wilder, it could cost you the fight. He’s very dangerous. I don’t see him [Fury] losing a round, but it doesn’t really matter. One mistake, and it can be over."
Should Fury win, Hearn is hoping the WBC orders him to make a mandatory defense against Dillian Whyte - who needs to beat Otto Wallin on October 30.
The WBC title has not been staked in a mandatory situation since Wilder knocked out Dominic Breazeale in May of 2019.
“I genuinely hope he wins because I want the WBC to order the mandatory of Fury-Whyte," Hearn said.
