AJ eager for Fury fight: 'We could do something special'

Tyson Fury could be part of something 'really special' should he come out of retirement to face Anthony Joshua in a long-awaited British heavyweight clash, says Eddie Hearn.

Fury is currently 'retired' from boxing after taking to social media in January to announce he was stepping away from the ring in the aftermath of his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in December's rematch.

The Gypsy King had also previously 'retired' following his knockout victory over Dillian Whyte in April 2022, only to return against Derek Chisora six months later. His history of hanging up his gloves has fuelled expectations around the boxing world of an eventual return.

Joshua was ringside in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night to watch on as the heavyweight landscape changed again, Agit Kabayel stopping Zhilei Zhang to continue his march towards the biggest names in the division and Joseph Parker knocking out last-minute replacement Martin Bakole to keep his world-title hopes alive.

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"The whole night got him (Joshua) very excited about coming back," Matchroom CEO Hearn told Sky Sports.

"I think the right thing to do would be to rematch Daniel Dubois, I think that's what he would like to do, to have another shot at the world heavyweight championship.

"We want to fight Tyson Fury but know he's retired at the moment

"I hope he (Fury) watched tonight and the hairs on his arms stood up a little bit.

"We could do something really special. Respect to him, if he doesn't come back then good luck but if he could, there would be a lot of happy people."

Top Rank COO Brad Jacobs told Sky Sports last week he believed Fury could be lured out of retirement by a showdown with Joshua as both come off defeats.

Fury just suffered back-to-back losses to Usyk to miss out on the undisputed heavyweight championship, while Joshua was knocked out by IBF champion Dubois at Wembley.

"Nobody is in Tyson's head, only himself, of course. I think an Anthony Joshua fight gets him out of retirement, if it's the right situation and he feels right about it," said Jacobs.

"I believe there is the potential for it. What happens nobody knows. Tyson has done shocking things before, and it wouldn't surprise me if he did it again."

Dubois had been scheduled to defend his IBF title against Parker on Saturday before falling ill on Thursday and being replaced by Bakole, who had meanwhile been eyeing a final eliminator against Efe Ajagba in May.

Parker went on to clinch his sixth straight win to remain on track for another deserved title opportunity. Sky Sports Boxing's Johnny Nelson, though, pondered a potential rematch against Joshua, who beat the Kiwi via unanimous decision in 2018.

Nelson said before Parker's win: "You know what I think is going to happen. I think Daniel Dubois goes on to box Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua sat ringside, he's not got an opponent yet and either way I thought, if Parker wins tonight, all of sudden AJ will find an opponent and he won't be getting in with Daniel Dubois again.

"Don't be surprised if that happens again, Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker."

Book repeats of the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol rematch at 8am and 6pm on Sunday February 23 on Sky Sports Box Office. Book now!