Hearn is only admitting Whyte next as he knows Wilder doesn't want the fight. The 50m contract was just words in the media and there is more to a contract than just money. If Wilder team was serious then they would have sat down with AJ team with a contract and discussed it. They also stipulated which tv rights they wanted which was not what AJ has already contracted too so they knew he wouldn't sign. If you want the real facts: 1) Wilder refuses to meet face to face. What person tries to negotiate a multi million pound deal across the media. Eddie tried to arrange a meeting in U.S. but they refused. 2) Wilder refused to come to Cardiff for an AJ fight. If he wanted the fight so badly then he would have turned up just like he did last night with Fury. 3) He has currently got a contract for a fight in April with all his agreed terms but again he is refusing to sign it. I think this proves its Wilder who is playing games not Eddie.
I've always been a fan of Povetkin. He can take the win here, but I have my doubts. He hasn't always been the most elusive fighter, and I think he has dipped a little which is understandable given his age. It presents an interesting match-up though, as he will put AJ under pressure which he hasn't faced before and could be a real test of his gas tank. You'd fancy Povetkin to finish the job too if he gets a chance like Wlad did. Would have loved to have seen Povetkin vs Haye a few years ago, a shame it has taken this long for Povetkin to face a Brit not named Price.
To be fair to AJ he could be fighting King Kong next he’d still be viewed as the guy who ducked wilder
As it is he’s plucked the guy who went life and death with pricey whilst fury is travelling to the US to fight wilder off the back of two bums. Deserves respect
If Povetkin wasn't a mandatory we wouldn't be getting this fight which is a very good fight it's just come 2 years too late for Povetkin although I still want him to and he is certainly capable of winning. If Povetkin wasn't mandatory we'd of been getting Joshua v Miller.....Miller and Whyte 2 are the fights Hearn really wants.
Cannot give a guy credit for ducking the main man out there. Tony Dosh is well on his way to being a billionaire and clearly stated that money was not important yet refuses the fight due to .............. split of money. There is simply no excuse for this fight not happening this year. Povetkin is surely too old and small to win a Word Heavyweight Title but I would be in the majority who would have a good laugh in the highly unlikely event that it happens. The two pongers against very limited opponents Takam and Parker really now asks serious questions about Tony Dosh. These questions can only be answered if he gets in with Wilder and wins. Warden and Fury have stolen the thunder and both Eh Day and Tony Dosh looking silly now. Nobody is really excited with the Povetkin fight after Takam and Parker. All the excitement is now with Fury v Wilder
It's a mandatory defence. AJ will get loads of credit, in airtime and in PPV sales, as usual. AJ always gets credit, tons of credit. Let's not get that fact twisted. It's only because a lot of boxing fans are actually talking a lot about some other top heavyweights recently that AJ's fangirls are a bit disturbed. I think AJ will destroy Povetkin, either a devastating KO or a shut-out points decision. A few years ago maybe Povetkin would have had a decent chance but not now.
These posts are hilarious are you related to Hearn? You sound so niave and are lapping up anything that he says. Of course it’s disappointing the fight isn’t taking place but the real reason it isn’t is that Matchroom want to delay it to make the fight bigger. People in boxing know this. Ref your point about no show from Wilder, we know why he didnt go to the Takam fight because he would have been put in a position to hype up a Whyte fight which bud he seems to have no interest in. He did attend the Wlad fight so your ‘facts’ are wrong there. Let’s hope the fight happens next year and doesnt get dragged out to 2020 like Barry Hearn has stated he would prefer. Then you can cheer on your man AJ. We all want him to beat Wilder as he’s British and it will be great for our sport.
There are probably a lot of naïve Eddie Hearn believers among the people on this forum. But there are also people on this forum (and elsewhere on internet/social media) who are actually paid to foster the belief and push Hearn's agenda. It becomes quite obvious that some of these guys are spending so much time and energy pushing the same stuff over and over, they must be loyal employees, so dedicated to the cause. I'm not sure how Eddie goes about recruiting. Possibly they are Tony Bellew's unemployed mates or something.
It's a very good fight. The context of the scene at the moment takes the glimmer away and the fact Povetkin is noticeably slower than he was doesn't help, but Povetkin is very much top 5 in the division with an argument to be in the top 3. Style wise, he's a nightmare for AJ but that explosiveness that made him really dangerous seems to have gone. Maybe he'll find it again for this as it's his last chance for a world title. Sasha-Fury for all the marbles 2019...could you bloody imagine
I'm sure another standby will be rolled out who was absolutely training for it beforehand and no way only had 2 weeks notice
As much as I hate talking about money and promotional wars, the real question is - presuming we get a conclusive winner of this fight (with no rematch clause triggered) will Joshua/Matchroom negotiate a 50/50 split for the winner? I say no and the fight won't be made, which is madness.
