Eddie Hearn has compared his starfighter Anthony Joshua to pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez – and believes the two are ‘winners’ who have the same hunger as when they started their careers.
Joshua is hard at work preparing for a potential undisputed world title fight against fellow Brit Tyson Fury, with talks ongoing, and Hearn feels the 31-year-old is showing similar levels of dedication to four-weight world champion Alvarez.
Hearn said Joshua is ‘constantly trying to evolve’ in boxing and thinks it can only be a positive that he is never willing to stand still in career – a trait that has taken the Mexican star to the very top of the sport.
‘I see similarities, not in the ring, between him and Canelo,’ Hearn said, speaking to Sky Sports.
‘Two guys who came from nothing, who have built their legacies, who have the same hunger now as when they first walked into a gym.
‘That’s what makes a winner. Joshua is constantly trying to evolve.
‘When you walk into Canelo’s dressing room after a fight he is talking to [his trainer] Eddy Reynoso about how he can improve.’
Canelo has one solitary loss in his remarkable career – on points to all-time great Floyd Mayweather in 2013 – and has since conquered the middleweight, super middlweight and light heavyweight divisions, with 55 victories and 2 draws.
Joshua enjoyed a stunning start to his own boxing career – winning his first 22 fights in a row – before being forced to go back to the drawing board following a shock KO loss against Andy Ruiz.
Hearn says Joshua has tailored his training schedule in the view that his next opponent is the Gypsy King, and says he is ‘so focused’ on beating his British rival.
‘He would say that he’s tailoring his training for his career. He is training, sleeping, resting. I want to rein him in for a rest.’
‘He is so focused. Although he’d tell you that he’s training just to improve as a fighter, I know that all he’s thinking about is Fury.’
‘He’s working on the plan to beat this guy and become undisputed. I love the work he’s doing, the improvements he’s making, the mind-set.’
He credited Fury as ‘a fantastic fighter’ but insisted Joshua will come out on top when the pair eventually get in the ring – calling the match-up ‘the biggest fight of all time’.
‘He has the mind-set of a winner, of a champion. Fury is a fantastic fighter but AJ will do a job on him,’ he continued.
‘The preparation starts now. Don’t think Fury isn’t doing the same. He knows. This may be the biggest fight of all time.’
Speaking last week, Joshua revealed he expects his fight against Fury to take place in June, and hailed his rival and his team as ‘hungry go-getters’ after working hard to make the bout happen.
‘June should be the date,’ Joshua said during a JD Sports live stream. ‘Trust me. For the fans, for the people that have been calling it on for many, many months.
‘Shoutout to Fury and his team as well, hungry go-getters, that’s what we are. UK stand up. And to the world, we’re bringing it.
