Eddie Hearn Pushes Prime Tyson Fury Narrative

A year away from the ring has not reversed any of that. It has made it worse. Fury looks older now. More worn. Less solid. The decline that was already visible in 2024 has only deepened.

Fury officially retired in early 2025 after the second Usyk loss, making this latest return another reversal at age 37, not a fresh start.

“He’s still in his prime. He lost two very close fights to Oleksandr Usyk It’s not like, ‘oh, he’s finished now,’” said Hearn to Sky Sports. “It’d be interesting to see who he faces. I think they’re talking potentially around April time.”

Hearn’s belief is easy to understand. He is still hoping to land a fight between Fury and Anthony Joshua, a matchup he has chased for more than a decade. That conversation is already fragile.

Joshua is currently away from the sport following last month’s car accident in Nigeria, and no timeline has been set for his return. If Fury looks anything other than convincing in a comeback fight, whatever remains of that discussion ends immediately.

Plans now call for Fury to return in early 2026 with a tune-up fight, with names like Arslanbek Makhmudov and Brandon Moore being mentioned. At this stage of his career, Fury can’t afford to lose or look poor.

Even against limited or unproven opposition, a flat performance would confirm what the last three fights already suggested. A bad night doesn’t just derail a Joshua fight. It exposes the distance between the version of Fury being sold and the one actually turning up.

Hearn is still selling the idea of Tyson Fury as a dominant force. The ring has been saying something else for a long time.

The problem is that Fury’s career record does not support the myth being maintained around him. His defining win came in 2015 against a 39 year old Wladimir Klitschko, a performance that earned Fury a fortune and instant stature. What followed was not dominance. It was a disappearance. Fury ballooned in weight, left the sport, and spent years living off that single night.

When he returned, the résumé padding began. Wins over limited opposition rebuilt momentum before he defeated Deontay Wilder, a champion with power but deep technical flaws. That rivalry carried Fury commercially, but it did not prove sustained greatness. Since then, his notable victories have come against shopworn opponents like Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora. Recognisable names. Not elite ones.

Hearn can keep selling a version of Fury that once existed. The problem is that the sport has already moved on, even if the marketing hasn’t.