“If he feels like he needs a good fight, I like that because it tells me he’s not entirely confident because he’s had 12 good rounds against Makhmudov, right? To the point where do you really need more rounds? That’s what the fans will say. Does he need one more? Because that creates a risk of something going wrong,” Hearn told Sky Sports Boxing.

Hearn pointed to Fury’s recent comments about Joshua’s return and questioned why the former heavyweight champion now believed another fight was necessary.

“He said to us, ‘Oh, you don’t need another fight. We had four rounds with Jake Paul.’ I mean, in two years of boxing, come on,” Hearn said. “You had 12 rounds with Makhmudov at Tottenham but you still feel you need more rounds to prepare for Anthony Joshua.”

Fury defeated Arslanbek Makhmudov over 12 rounds in April after coming out of retirement. At the time, many expected him to go straight to the fight with Joshua. Instead, Fury continued to push for another performance ahead of his clash with the British heavyweight.

Hearn doesn’t believe the extra rounds will make a difference when Fury eventually splits the ring with Joshua.

“But now I’ll tell you something. More rounds won’t support you, because I can see it. When Makhmudov came out in this fight, I just know what AJ will do.”

Promoter Matchroom said Joshua remains focused on Prengi, but admitted a sturdy performance next month could mean he enters the fight with Fury with renewed confidence after a hard period away from the ring.

“If we keep that confidence, if we can go there and put on a great performance together on July 25, we will go into the fight with Tyson Fury with a lot of confidence. It will be an vital moment for the sport, but July 25 has to be the first,” Hearn said.

Now that all super middleweight world titles have been won following Terence Crawford’s retirement, fans are hopeful that unification fights could come soon, but in the eyes of one champion’s promoter, that is unlikely.

Crawford defeated Canelo Alvarez in a legacy-defining fight last September to become the first undisputed three-weight champion since Henry Armstrong in 1938, and “Kill Hank” was the first in boxing history to accomplish the feat.

Having cemented his place among the greats, Crawford hung up his gloves and retired with his undefeated record intact and his respect as a current sports icon.

Boxing had to move on and it did so quickly, with four modern champions holding the super middleweight world title; Christian Mbilli (WBC), Osleys Iglesias (IBF), Jaime Munguia (WBA) and Hamzah Sheeraz (WBO).

In September, Canelo will attempt to become champion again challenges Mbilla for the coveted WBC green and gold belt. The other three main champions do not currently have fights lined up.

Speaking to Boxing News, Iglesias’ promoter Camille Estephan, who also promotes Mbilli, revealed why he thinks the Cuban southerner, who boasts a record of 15-0 with 14 KOs, may have difficulty finding a willing and available challenger.

“People recognize his ability, that’s why they don’t want to fight him. When you look at his last few opponents, he fought Siljagin; when he fought Siljagin, no one wanted to fight Siljagin – a technical fighter from Russia that people don’t know, very good defensively. He was destroyed, literally. By the end of the fight he was blind in one eye, couldn’t breathe and couldn’t hear.

“The previous warrior who fought him [Vladimir] Shishkin, was highly respected, was an emerging fighter who at one point thought he would spotless up the division. He was definitely a very, very forceful fighter, very good defensively as well, he was literally destroyed in the fight against Iglesias. Just look at the images.

“Then you see this guy, [Evgeny] Shvedenko, who drew with Silyagin. He was knocked out in a very scary way, we were very, very worried about him. Every guy he fought, he destroyed. The people who fight him are never the same again.

“We understand the hesitancy of a lot of the top guys. I think he’ll just keep doing it and then the fans will recognize that’s the guy – the guy who’s at the top of the hill.”

Recently at the 41st annual IBF convention in Vietnam, Troy Williamson was invited to negotiate a final eliminator with Diego Pacheco for a title shot, but it appears the Darlington operator will be unable to attend as his long-awaited rematch with Callum Simpson is currently being considered for July.

Continuing, Estephan praised Williamson for his courage, declaring that he is “one of the few people on the planet” who is confident enough to face Iglesias.

“When it comes to Troy Williamson, I hear a lot of different things. I don’t know what his next move will be, but in the case of Iglesias, Troy was ready to fight him, so kudos to him. He’s one of the few people in the world who wants to fight Iglesias.”

With few challengers daring to push for a fight with the undefeated 28-year-old, Estephan admitted that both he and his fighter are looking towards other super middleweight world champions in hopes of securing unification fights. However, this energy was not reciprocated.

“What I can say about Iglesias is that he wants to fight other world champions. He has the IBF and IBO titles, but it looks like Munguia wants nothing to do with Iglesias and Sheeraz, especially. They talk about wanting a unification, but when they hear Iglesias, they forget what a unification is.

“They would rather fight anyone other than Iglesias. He is clearly the bogeyman of boxing.”

“We want Iglesias to defend his title and we want Iglesias to be put in a situation where it will inevitably happen. Sheeraz and Munguia were talking about unifying until they heard about Iglesias, so maybe they will fight each other, but they can run and they can’t hide.”

One potential option for Sheeraz and Munguia is to compete on the Canelo-Mbilli card. Iglesias’ possible addition to the September 12 show means all four 168-pound belts will be up for grabs that night.

Billed as “Mexico vs. the World,” Iglesias would likely need to acquire a Mexican challenger, with the most obvious option being former WBA champion Armando Resendi if Estephan and Turki Alalshikh are indeed planning an Iglesias fight on the undercard.

Xander Zayas believes his entire professional career has been leading up to the challenge he will face on June 27 against Jaron “Boots” Ennis.

The undefeated champion remained confident throughout the build-up to his highly anticipated super welterweight fight, but he also made it clear that Ennis represented the toughest test he has faced as a professional.

“He’s the toughest opponent of my career,” Zayas said during a behind-the-scenes look at his training camp released by Matchroom Boxing. “Every fight was a step in that direction, and facing someone like Boots, a former world champion coming into a fresh weight class and wanting to be the king of that weight class, is obviously a challenge because you know he gives his all.

“But you have to expect the best from me, and I promise Xander Zayas will bring out the best version of himself.”

Instead of treating the fight as something different from previous camps, Zayas said he approached his preparation in the same way that led him to the biggest opportunity of his career.

“Same focus, same hunger, same dedication, same everything,” Zayas said. “Nothing changes. This is another fight, the most significant fight of my career. But every fight is significant. Nothing else. I have to stay who I am, be true to myself, know what works for me, apply it.

“That’s what it comes down to. I know who I am, I know what I’ve been through at every camp and I know how to make changes when I have to, so whatever he says won’t affect me because I’ve been here before. I’ve been here since I was 16.”

Ennis comes into the fight having moved up from welterweight, where he held world titles before settling on the top of the 154-pound division. Zayas sees that ambition as part of what makes the fight so unsafe, but he also sees it as a fight his career has been preparing him for all along.

Dan Ambrose is a boxing journalist at Boxing News 24, respected for his direct analysis and extensive coverage of the global fight landscape. His reports focus on the most significant fights, division development and the most discussed stories in sports.

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Last update: 2026/06/01 at 23:08