Eddie Hearn thinks Tyson Fury still has three more heavyweight boxers to beat before he can be considered a “boxing great.” Fury, 33, came through his stunning trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas, stopping the American the 11th round to retain his WBC and Ring Magazine titles.

It was his second straight win over Wilder after the pair’s first bout, back in December 2018, ended in a controversial draw. Afterwards ‘The Gypsy King’ boasted he was the best heavyweight boxer ‘of his generation’, and has since even hinted at retirement.

Ironically, his trilogy bout with ‘The Bronze Bomber’ was one Fury took on reluctantly, after Wilder took legal action to prevent the British fighter negotiating a long-awaited bout with Anthony Joshua. A subsequent court ruling favoured the American’s claim that Fury was obliged to fight him a third time before facing another opponent.

Joshua’s recent loss to Oleksandr Usyk has now scuppered any chance of British fans getting the fight they crave in the immediate future, with ‘AJ’ having triggered his rematch clause in a bid to win his WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO belts back from the Ukrainian. That bout is due to take place in the spring of 2022.

Dillian Whyte is currently the mandatory challenger to the WBC crown, but his hopes of finally settling a war of words with Fury rest on the outcome of his fight with Otto Wallin on October 30.

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But while the boxing world waits for Fury’s next move, Hearn has said he still has much to prove to be considered the best of his era. Aside from Wilder, Fury has a win over heavyweight legend Wladimir Klitschko on his CV, but the Matchroom boss has argued there are still three more rivals he needs to conquer.

Michael Benson, online boxing editor for talkSport, tweeted quotes from Hearn’s interview with iFL TV.

“Maybe he (Fury) beats everybody and goes down as one of the great heavyweights of all time, but you have to beat the fighters of your era – Joshua, Usyk, Whyte,” said Hearn, 42.

“He may become a Lennox Lewis, but to do it you can’t just beat one guy in three years.”

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The latter comment could be percevied as a risky one from Hearn, with Fury beating Tom Schwarz before outpointing Wallin in-beween his first and second bouts with Wilder. However, it was far from straightforward against the Swedish fighter, with Fury nursing a badly cut eye for much of the contest.

Indeed, his co-promoter Bob Arum has publicly backed Wallin to overcome ‘The Body Snatcher’ when they meet at the O2 Arena.

Benson’s post prompted plenty of reaction from boxing fans, with many accusing Hearn of bias by naming Whyte, 33, another fighter who he promotes.

@RightHookRexy joked: “Eddie’s just gonna slip Whyte’s name into every conversation and see if anyone notices.