Tyson Fury returned to action in a low-profile affair against Mariusz Wach last month, ahead of a long-awaited scrap with Anthony Joshua, and now AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn has cast his verdict on Fury’s display in that bout.

Fury retired from boxing for a fifth time when he hung up the gloves following a second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk back in 2024.

After over a year away from the ring, ‘The Gypsy King’ made his comeback against Arslanbek Makhmudov in April, as he cruised to a unanimous decision win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

During the aftermath, he called on a summer fight with Joshua, but ‘AJ’ maintained that he would require a ‘warm-up’ first, later going on to recover from a catastrophic first-round against Kristian Prenga to score a second-round stoppage win in that bout.

Speaking to iFL TV before that scare, having witnessed Fury decision Makhmudov and then halt Wach after seven rounds, Hearn declared his belief that Fury is a ‘shot’ fighter.

“I think he [Fury] is shot.”

“Mariusz Wach has lost eight of his last 11, he has just turned into – with full respect to him – a guy that you put on a young heavyweight’s record to say that you have fought Mariusz Wach, but that was like three years ago!”

Continuing, Hearn went on to blame Fury’s ‘lifestyle’ as one potential reason behind his supposed decline, stating that he is no longer the fighter that he once was. 

“I just don’t think that he is the fighter that he was. I think that the lifestyle has probably caught up with him. Shot is probably a little bit harsh, but he is shot compared to what he once was, that is what I think.”

Fury-Joshua is believed to take place in New York this November, in what looks set to be a Netflix-broadcasted bill.