EDDIE HEARN raged that Tyson Fury’s team ‘f***ed up the biggest fight in history’ after the undisputed title decider with Anthony Joshua collapsed.
AJ and Fury were set to put, for the first time in heavyweight history, all the belts on the line, with an agreed headliner of August 14 in Saudi Arabia.
But at the final hurdle, Deontay Wilder was awarded the right to a trilogy bout with the Gypsy King, putting and end to the all-British unification.
Hearn and Joshua were then left in the cold, as Wilder and Fury signed to a rematch on June 24 in Las Vegas.
The promoter lashed out at Bob Arum and Frank Warren for failing to make sure the Bronze Bomber’s arbitration case did not affect talks with Joshua.
Hearn told Boxing Social: “I feel like the sport’s been cheated. I feel like AJ’s been cheated because I failed.
“As I said in an interview, I can’t say that I succeeded, because yes I got the deal done, yes we did everything against the odds, but I didn’t get them in the ring.
“But I did everything I can and as long as you can look yourself in the mirror and say I couldn’t have done any more, and I couldn’t have done any more than I did.
“So, rather than celebrate, ‘Oh, these guys they played you’ why don’t you be angry with the fact these guys f***ed up the biggest fight in history and made sure that the undisputed heavyweight world championship didn’t happen.
“Ask them why the reasons are that they decided to do that.”
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Fury, 32, and Wilder, 35, first drew in 2018 before rematching two years later.
It ended in defeat for the Bronze Bomber in February 2020, but their contract included an immediate rematch.
That never came to fruition amid the coronavirus pandemic and the Fury’s team argued the stipulation expired in October.
As a result, they entered talks with Joshua, 31, all while Wilder took his case to civil court.
And after months the decision went his way, meaning Fury was faced with either fighting him or negotiating a step aside deal.
Both the WBC champion and Wilder had no intentions of putting together a compensation package, meaning the trilogy was on.
Hearn has since alleged Fury’s side had the chance to terminate their contract with Wilder in December, but chose not to.
And he hit back at those who relished in the demise of the biggest fight in British boxing history and argued the criticism should be aimed elsewhere.
Hearn said: “It’s mad that people almost, they want to celebrate the fact that, ‘Ah, these guys, they were just winding you up the whole time’.
“Is that really what you want to celebrate? Or do you want to say how has the fight not happened.
“Because I tell you what, all I’ve done over five months is work my b*****s off to try and make this fight happen.
“Bob Arum, Frank Warren, ‘This fight won’t happen, they’ll never get a site deal, the Saudis don’t want it in August’.
“Every excuse under the book, I dealt with all that, we got it into place with all their lawyers.
“And people talk about the arbitration, all our lawyers from all teams were on the phone finalising everything nonstop, like loads of work’s got into this.
“Months of work, so do I fee like I’ve been played? I haven’t really thought of it like that, I feel disappointed, I feel cheated.”
