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Eddie Hearn has revealed he turned down the chance to manage Tyson Fury after holding a secret meeting in 2017.
Two years ago, ‘Gypsy King’ made headlines with his spectacular victory over Wladimir Klitschko.
Fury subsequently struggled with his mental health and ultimately spent two and a half years away from the sport.
His weight increased to 28 stone, but after eventually choosing to get himself back into shape, he returned to the ring in 2018.
Tyson Fury grew to 28 stone at the peak of his battle with mental health
Hearn says he met with Fury to discuss possible management of the heavyweight champion.
However, the boxing promoter turned down the opportunity after Fury arrived on the floor sweating ‘barely talking’.
Hearn told The Overlap: “When Fury went up and his weight went up, he contacted me.
“He said ‘Would you be interested in signing me?’
“I was thinking ‘well, not sure’. But, obviously at that time he had beaten Klitschko and that win was incredible. I never thought he would get a chance in that fight.
“Then he had his own problems [with mental health],
“Then he came to me and said ‘Would you be interested?’ So, I said come and meet me.
“I was in Monaco at the time. He walked out. I sat in the board room of this hotel and he walked in.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. He was huge, he was 26 stone.
“He sat down and he could barely talk, he was on the floor sweating. But, he was saying, I’ll come back and do this, that and all that.
“He was saying I need four easy fights, then I’ll fight Deontay Wilder.
“What I was saying is, I can’t give you four easy fights. If you have one or two, it’s fine.
“That’s all you need to get back into shape. But Fury was like no, no I have to do it this way. This is the only way.
“I looked at him and I thought, I’m not spending the money because I have to give you all those fights and look at your situation. I don’t even think you’ll make it back in the ring.
“Obviously, he fought two fights before he fought Deontay Wilder.
“I would sign him 100 percent [if he agreed to that with me],
Hearn then praised Fury for turning his life around, while also praising his charismatic personality.
He added, “What he did to turn it around was incredible. We have ups and downs in life, I don’t always believe what he says but he’s hilarious.”
“He’s one of the disappearing figures, not just in boxing, but in sports as well. And, to be back where he came from, it’s incredible.
“I watched At Home with the Furies, which I thought was brilliant, and I was just looking at this guy with all this back fat and I’m thinking how do you do that.
“He has better durability in rounds than AJ, maybe Usyk, Wilder. He’s a one-and-done.
“He’s been boxing his whole life and he’s a very natural at it.”
After returning to the ring, Fury did not look back.
He prepared for his 2018 bout with Deontay Wilder by defeating Francesco Pianeta and Nouri Safri.
latest developments:
Boxing star Tyson Fury is currently preparing for his fight with former UFC star Francis Ngannou
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Fury would draw with Wilder before defeating the Bronze Bomber in both 2020 and 2021.
He has also overtaken Tom Schwarz, Otto Wallin, Dillian Whyte and Derek Chrisora in recent years.
His next fight will be against former UFC star Francis Ngannou at the end of the month, with the fight scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia.
