Eddie Hearn responds to Simon Jordan criticism of Anthony Joshua
talkSPORT’s Marmite figure Simon Jordan never shies away from an outspoken opinion and has recently offered some unfavourable views on Anthony Joshua that have prompted promoter Eddie Hearn to defend his man.
34-year-old Londoner Joshua is in a good place right now having recorded four wins in the last year – three knockouts over Otto Wallin, Francis Ngannou and Robert Helenius, and a commanding points decision over Jermaine Franklin in his first comeback fight after back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk that saw him lose then fail to win back his unified world titles.
Businessman and media personality Jordan has seemed to have it in for Joshua on a number of occasions before now and never backed him to beat Usyk when the pair fought in 2021 and 2022, and has since told him he should relish the criticism. Most recently, he has claimed that AJ only fights for money.
Rushing to his defence, Hearn has spoken to Boxing Social about those cynical comments.
“Simon Jordan has never had one conversation with Anthony Joshua so what are you deriving that from, an interview?
“The main focus for Anthony Joshua is to make history in the sport and my job is to make sure, commercially, he is rewarded for that.
“There has never been a moment where he is about the money, he has always been about fighting the best and making a legacy in the sport.
“I guess he’s saying that ’cause he is fighting in Saudi Arabia, but that’s where the money is being made.”
Hearn concluded, “Now he is on the hunt to become a three-time world champion and is waiting to find out if he might get a shot against the winner of Tyson Fury vs Usyk, or against the winner of Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois, should they fight for the IBF belt that will become vacant after the undisputed fight is settled.”
Anthony Joshua has revealed his next fight date will likely be from September onwards.