At one stage last night, when Dillian Whyte caught Anthony Joshua flush on the chin and, for an instant, Joshua?s legs almost betrayed him; I reckon Eddie Hearn must have aged ten years.
For an instant it looked as if all those huge pay-days Eddie had in his mind for Joshua looked as if they were all going to disappear.
Instead though, Joshua proved all those doubters wrong who reckoned he couldn?t take a punch and bode his time well before coming back to produce a stunning flurry of punches culminating in a superbly executed upper-cut that saw Whyte pole-axed.
After the dust had settled on what was a titanic heavyweight struggle, a buzzing Eddie Hearn spoke to the media, having this to say about the fight and Anthony Joshua in particular,
‘It had it all, the ring invasion after one round, he was definitely tired and then what a finish.
‘I was thinking, this could go to points, both look tired. He gives you value for money. Pure excitement but a lot to learn.
‘This is why when people say ‘put him in with Fury’, I say we have to go through this journey.
‘I don’t know how he found that finish. One thing you’ll get with Anthony Joshua is value for money. He’s an ambassador for the sport. He has a great chin and plenty of heart. He found a way to come back and produce one of the best finishes I’ve seen in heavyweight boxing.
‘Tonight he showed he is made of the hard stuff.
‘The journey continues, I believe 2016 will bring a world title shot. That’s the fight he needed and the finish was absolutely devastating.’
It was and it?ll be interesting to see who Hearn selects as Joshua?s first opponent for 2016.
Hearn on that epic Joshua v Whyte fight
