Boxing news: Eddie Hearn lifts the lid on bust-up with Anthony Joshua's dad
EDDIE HEARN has opened up on his confrontation with Anthony Joshua’s father following the Brit’s stunning upset loss to Andy Ruiz Jr earlier this month.
Eddie Hearn admits Anthony Joshua's dad was 'gunning' for him
Anthony Joshua lost the WBA (Super), WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles to the Mexican-born American at Madison Square Garden in spectacular fashion, suffering a seventh-round TKO loss.
Moments after seeing his son lose his first professional fight, an angry Robert Joshua was seen exchanging with Hearn, which fuelled speculation ‘AJ’ wasn’t 100 per-cent ahead of his American debut.
Joshua was forced to intervene and later played down the pair’s heated conversation.
Hearn was surprised by Robert’s reaction and has admitted he briefly thought AJ’s dad was going to swing for him.
Hearn told iFL TV: “We don’t talk, like ever, and it was a bit of a shock and at the time I was looking at (Joshua’s dad) and thinking, ‘He might chin me now!’
“It was one of those things where he was about to chin me, and I was thinking let's just talk after because I didn’t want that kind of situation in the ring.”
The angry reaction of Joshua’s father gave credence to reports the 29-year-old had been badly hurt in sparring ahead of the fight.
Hearn has emphatically dismissed that notion and insisted he wasn’t the only one who got an earful from Robert.
I was looking at (Joshua’s dad) and thinking, ‘He might chin me now!'
The Matchroom Sports chief said: “He was gunning for everybody but unfortunately I got copped on TV.
“He said he was unhappy with the house, the set up of the house, with the referee, a whole load of stuff.
“Then when I went round the back he started again and Josh went just said, “Dad, it's me, it’s on me, I lost, no one else's fault’.
"That was all that was said.”
Joshua’s next fight will be a rematch with Ruiz Jr, who upset the Olympic gold medalist on six week’s notice.
The bout is expected to take place in the UK in November or December, though a venue has not yet been decided.
Hearn believes second defeat to Ruiz Jr would be catastrophic for Joshua, saying: "At the moment, he's lost his world title belts and he's got a chance to win them back.
"If he was to lose that second fight, it's not career-ending but it starts to make you think about your career - and that's long before we expect that moment to happen.
"The rematch is by no means a foregone conclusion."
He added: "Ruiz's confidence is going to go through the roof; AJ's confidence probably isn't going to be the same," Hearn added.
"I think he was probably too overconfident.
"What we saw was one of the biggest heavyweight shocks of all time. But we also saw an amazing fight, and now it's down to Anthony."