Barry Hearn is convinced that a blockbuster fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury is on the horizon. The two British heavyweight titans, who have dominated the boxing scene with impressive careers, are yet to clash in the ring.

The “Gypsy King” won the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and WBC titles, defeating such notable opponents as Wladimir Klitschko, Deontay Wilder and Tom Schwarz. Joshua, on the other hand, won every major heavyweight title except the WBC, defeating Alexander Povetkin, Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz Jr.

Despite their status as two of the most notable heavyweights of their era, a fight between Fury and Joshua remains elusive. But speaking further Thursday’s episode of The Barry Hearn ShowMatchroom founder Hearn expressed confidence that the long-awaited showdown is getting closer.

He shared: “Each fight has to be judged individually. AJ and Fury will fight because His Excellency Turki Alalshikh is involved in their fight.

“By the way, this man is a boxing fanatic. The guy who’s pumping all those hundreds of millions into boxing in the Middle East – the Saudi in particular – has plans to go bigger and further beyond Arabia. This will be an intriguing development. because he brings with him the one thing fighters love more than anything else – huge purses, and he’s the one who will insist this fight happens.”

Hearn also noted similarities between the eagerly anticipated clash and the legendary fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., which kept fans on the edge of their seats for quite some time.

He explained, “Let me take you. So the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight was the fight 10, 15 years ago that everyone was talking about. And there was a similar situation – everyone asked: ‘When will this happen? When will this happen? ». This hasn’t happened for years and years and years.

“And everyone said, ‘well, they’re both over it,’ cynics. This fight grossed over $500 million. Why? Because all those years of waiting actually raised the level of fighting to the point that the sight; Yes, people were frustrated, yes, they were a little bored with it, but when it happened it was huge. But will this fight take place?

In May 2015, Mayweather triumphed in a 12-round unanimous decision against the seemingly undefeated Pacquiao, improving his record to 48-0 and winning the WBO welterweight title.

There has been a lot of speculation online about AJ and Fury entering the ring together, which would be a monumental fight for boxing enthusiasts around the world. Perhaps the dream match will come true in 2025, depending on the result of Fury’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk scheduled for December.

The undefeated Ukrainian was crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in May after defeating Fury in a 12-round split decision. If he triumphs for a second time this winter, a fight with AJ seems to be the most logical next step.

Last month, Joshua lost to Daniel Dubois at Wembley, failing to secure the IBF title when he was knocked out by a powerful right hand in the fifth round. While he may decide to invoke his rematch clause with DDD next year, he could be persuaded to finally face the ‘Gypsy King’ if he falls into Usyk’s hands in two months.

This is the next event in Saudi Arabia, which will take place this Saturday at the Kingdom Arena in the Riyadh Season, and the winner of the prize will witness the clash for the undisputed featherlight heavyweight title between WBC, IBF and WBO champion Artur Beterbiev and the head of the WBA and IBO, Dmitry Bivol.

The Beterbiev vs Bivol fight will be broadcast live in the UK on pay-per-view Heavenly sportsTNT Sports and DAZN and available on ESPN+ in the US on pay-per-view for one fight, with the rest of the card on DAZN pay-per-view.

The fight was supposed to take place in June, but Beterbiev was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Bivol (23-0, 12 KO) fought despite everything and defended his titles. stopping the defeated Malik Zinad in six rounds.

The Russian has put together some solid points early in his career against the likes of Isaac Chilemba, Jean Pascal and Joe Smith Jr, but 2022 saw his breakout moment when he scored a stunning victory on the scorecards against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in Las Vegas.

The 33-year-old backed it up with a wide points victory over Gilberto Ramirez and then added the IBO belt to his WBA belt with a crushing win over Lyndon Arthur before making one last stop to the aforementioned Zinad.

Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KO) never heard the final bell and became the IBF champion for the first time, knocking out Enrico Koelling in the final round in November 2017.

The 39-year-old added the WBC belt in October 2019, defeating Oleksandr Gvozdyk in a ten-round thriller, and secured the WBO crown in June 2022, defeating Joe Smith Jr in two rounds.

The Russian-born Canadian was then severely tested by Anthony Yarde in early 2023 and was two cards down before landing finishing blows to secure an eighth-round victory.

Beterbiev was last sidelined in January, making a controlled attempt to stop Callum Smith in the seventh minute.

Wardley argues with Clarke again

The undercard will feature the long-awaited rematch with Fabio Wardley (17-0-1, 16 KO) defends the British heavyweight title Frazer Clarke.

The pair delivered a thriller in March at the O2 Arena, where Clarke (8-0-1, 6 KO) was on deck in the fifth set and had a point taken, but rallied to earn the draw.

Obadiah meets Massey

Jai Opetai is an emerging fighter making his first defense of the IBF cruiserweight title in his second stint as champion against Jack Massey.

Opetaia (25-0, 19 KO) came to the fore after dethroning IBF champion Mairis Briedis in Australia in July 2022 in a pulsating points victory. He defended by stopping Jordan Thompson in four, but was then stripped of the belt when he chose to face Ellis Zorro, whom he starched in the round.

The 29-year-old southpaw regained the vacant title in a rematch with Briedis, scoring clear points in May in Saudi Arabia.

Massey (22-2, 12 KO) moved up to heavyweight and had a good evaluation of himself after a loss to Joseph Parker last January.

“One Smack” bounced back to win the European and Commonwealth titles, scoring well-deserved points against Isaac Chamberlain in his last outing in June.

Eubank Jr faces Love

Chris Eubank Jr fights for the first time this year and fights for the vacant IBO middleweight title in a fight against Kamil Szeremeta (25-2-2, 8 KO).

Eubank Jr (33-3, 24 KO) was upset by Liam Smith in early 2023, with the Liverpudlian winning a fourth-round stoppage, but the Brighton fighter got his revenge in September of the same year, defeating Smith for the tenth time by stoppage.

Szeremeta’s defeats affected his good company, as he retired in December 2020 after a seven-shot world title fight against Gennady Golovkin, and then retired after six fights later against Jaime Munguia.

In February, the 34-year-old will draw with Abel Mina in Poland.

Nicolson fights Chapman

Skye Nicolson defends her WBC featherweight title for the second time in a historic clash with Raven Chapman.

Nicolson (11-0, 1 KO) secured the vacant title with a points victory over Sarah Mahfoud in April in Las Vegas, then defended it with a victory over Dyana Vargas in Philadelphia in July.

Chapman (9-0, 2 KO) has defended her WBC International featherweight title four times and faces a challenge for her maiden world title in the first women’s title fight to be held in Saudi Arabia.

Undercard remaining

Ben Whittaker (8-0, 5 KO) is also on the list and may have to settle for scoring points in his scheduled 10-round fight with Liam Cameron (23-6, 10 KO).

Mohammed Alakel, who is making his debut in the super featherweight division, can make a winning start in regular time in a four-round fight against Jesus Gonzalez (3-2).

Boxing fighter Butterbean claimed to have “knocked out” Mike Tyson as he watched the heavyweight clash with the legendary fighter. The 58-year-old icon, real name Erik Esch, has been hunting for the last gigantic scrap for a long time.

He has made no secret of his desire to face both Tyson and YouTuber boxer Jake Paul, as he has called out both men in the past. Iron Mike is currently preparing for his highly anticipated showdown with Paul on November 15 in Arlington, Texas.

As of 2022, Butterbean has been trying to get in shape and has lost over 200 pounds. He currently weighs 290 pounds and after his stunning transformation, the American legend now hopes to face Tyson in the ring for one last gigantic payday.

Tyson was last seen in the ring four years ago when he faced Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition contest. He hasn’t fought professionally since 2005, when he lost to Kevin McBride, which makes any fight with Butterbean unlikely, despite his upcoming clash with Paul.

However, Paul was very energetic in the ring and was last seen in action in July. The self-proclaimed “Problem Child” secured a massive knockout against the former UFC welterweight contender Mike Perry. Tyson and Paul were originally scheduled to meet in July, but Tyson was forced to withdraw from the competition due to a flare-up of an ulcer. Butterbean, who doesn’t mince his words, believes the much talked about fight between Paul and Tyson is a “scam” and in an excitable tirade claimed that the fight will never happen despite it being scheduled for next month.

During the question and answer session, he said: “He (Paul) and Tyson will never fight. It was a fraud from the very beginning designed to enhance Jake’s good name – and it happened.”