Eddie Hearn has enjoyed his own very public back and forth with John Fury down the years, so you might not expect the Matchroom boss to provide a very measured take on what happened in Riyadh on Monday.
Fight week in Saudi Arabia erupted very early as the countdown to Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk caught fire when Fury Sr appeared to headbutt a Usyk team member during media arrivals.
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The aftermath was chaotic, but Hearn provided a very balanced take on what had happened when he spoke in an interview with IFL TV (watch it in full at the bottom of this article). It’s very clear he just did not expect this, but could understand why it may have happened.
Eddie Hearn on John Fury
“I’ve called his bluff over the years because he’s never actually done anything. So in that respect, we have to say it’s out of character, because he’s never done anything before. The amount of times he’s come face to face with people and never done anything, you start to wonder if it’s just for the hype of the show and so forth.
“I’m glad it weren’t me because I would have stood in front of him and I wouldn’t have expected him to do anything and he would have just nutted me.”
After Hearn had spoken about his surprise at what happened, he gave his own verdict on Fury Sr – and the pressures that people involved face during a major fight week.
He reasoned: “I’ve said before in interviews John Fury is good for boxing in respect of the buildups. That’s not, I think he shouldn’t have done it. I know he’s apologised – it’s a heat of the moment thing.
“It’s difficult for some people to quite understand the game and the pressure and what it means for some people, especially if it’s your son. I’ve over-reacted sometimes. Even recently after the Devin Haney fight I lost my rag a little bit. I’m not gonna nut anyone – well it would take me more to nut someone.
“Something can always kick off, but he shouldn’t have done it in my opinion. But I also understand emotions are very high. I don’t really know what was said to make him do it. Like I said, people might not agree when I said it’s out of character. Normally it’s ‘I’m this, I’m that’ – it’s quite amusing and then it goes away.
“This was physical so yeah, quite surprised. I think it’s one of them where afterwards, I’m not gonna say he’d be embarrassed but he’d probably think to himself ‘shouldn’t have done that’, which he shouldn’t have.
“But I also understand it’s his son and it’s a massive moment for them.”