Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn has claimed he turned down the chance to sign Tyson Fury back in 2017 because he was so overweight.
Both Hearn and Fury were in attendance for Derek Chisora’s showdown with Agit Kabayel – with the former losing to the European heavyweight champion courtesy of a points decision.
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The pair had tentative discussions about the possibility of working together while they were both in France, admittedly at a time of Fury’s life where he was having major struggles with his mental health.
And Hearn, who promotes the likes of Anthony Joshua and Billy Joe Saunders, says he ultimately decided to pass up on the opportunity to add Fury to his stable of fighters – something he still looks back on to this day with regret.
“I had a chance to sign him. I was in Monaco, I think I could have signed him,” he told Sky Sports ‘Doing the Rounds’.
“I didn’t want to give him the fights that he wanted to take at the time, because I thought it was just too much money and the fights weren’t good enough – and I probably should have done it, to be honest with you.
“I looked at him and I thought, ‘You ain’t ever going to come back anyway, look at the size of you,’ but he surprised everybody and how wrong I was.
“Fury is definitely up there, and there’s a few others. A few American guys that I probably had the chance to sign as well.”
The ‘Gypsy King’ came back from the brink to turn his life around – both in and outside the ring – and is now the main man in heavyweight boxing.
Fury dethroned former WBC champion Deontay Wilder in stunning fashion on February 22, flooring him twice before forcing his corner to throw the towel in during the seventh round.
