EDDIE HEARN revealed he has been on the receiving end of some ‘unpleasant’ messages from Tyson Fury.
Hearn has worked tirelessly to deliver the undisputed title decider between AJ and Fury, which is now set for August 14 in Saudi Arabia.
With an announcement imminent, both heavyweight champions have started the war of words.
Hearn has warned there will be a new side to Joshua, 31, ahead of the most important fight of his career, but already knows what to expect from Fury, 32.
He told Sky Sports: “You will get a different AJ in this build-up.
“He’s excited because he’s never really, apart from the Dillian Whyte fight, been in a trash-talk environment.
“He will enjoy it. AJ has got the bit between his teeth, goading him a bit.
“I’m sure these two DM each other, goading each other. I get DMs from Fury – sometimes pleasant, sometimes unpleasant.
“When the announcement comes and the press conferences start, the pleasantries will go away and it will become personal.
“It doesn’t matter who respects who. Both sides are desperate to win because this is everything. There are no fun and games. It’s ‘them and us’.”
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For the first time in heavyweight history, all four WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO belts are set to be on the line.
To mark the historic fight – where bragging rights are on the line – Hearn promised an emphatic performance by unified champion Joshua.
He said: “AJ will go to war with Fury. He has plans to absolutely demolish him. That’s what I believe he will do.
“In the meantime we will go through the build-up, which will be a lot of fun, before the biggest event of 2021.”
Hearn has been locked in talks with Saudi Arabian backers, the same group who brought AJ’s 2019 rematch win over Andy Ruiz Jr, 31, to Diriyah.
That night, they built a custom-made 18,000 indoor stadium, only to take it down afterwards, and the same set-up is set to be produced for the biggest fight in British history.
Hearn said: “They want to build a new stadium. They have indoors options. In August at 11pm it will be about 23 degrees.
“They want to create something very, very special. Last time they built a stadium for the Andy Ruiz Jr fight in just seven weeks and it held 18,000.
“This will be a similar set-up. They have the opportunity to hold it indoors but they want to create something that will shock the world.
“They want to build a stadium just for this fight.”
