Anthony Joshua ‘lost faith’ with boxing after the collapse of Tyson Fury talks, Eddie Hearn has revealed.
AJ was in talks about a potential all-British heavyweight clash in December, and Fury set several public deadlines for the fight to be agreed, but the deal was never finalised.
Instead, Fury defends his WBC heavyweight title when he takes on Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 3.
Promoter Hearn said that the failure to negotiate that battle between Joshua and Fury hit the 33-year-old’s motivation, and it’s meant AJ has had to regroup with an eye to returning to the ring in the first quarter of next year.
However, he dismissed concerns that Joshua could take a whole year off after being unable to take on the 34-year-old Gypsy King.
Hearn told Boxing Social, “He just sort of lost faith a little bit with boxing because he really wanted to fight Tyson Fury.
“That’s the main reason that he didn’t fight this year. It messed up his mojo. He was just p***** off.
