You are here: HomeSportsBoxing2021 05 19Article 439933

Sports News of Wednesday, 19 May 2021

Source: www.mynigeria.com

Joshua may now face Usyk - Hearn

Anthony Joshua Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua may not fight with Fury this summer

Anthony Joshua is likely to battle it out with Oleksandr Usyk

The new move was made public by Anthony Joshua's promoter

Anthony Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, in a video released Tuesday by showed that a bout between Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk is a possibility if Fury is unavailable this summer.

Hearn’s statement came a day after an arbitrator ruled Fury must give Deontay Wilder a rematch by September 15.

The latest development comes as Joshua’s and Fury’s respective camps were putting the finishing touches on a potential undisputed heavyweight title fight in Saudi Arabia this summer.

Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs), the former undisputed cruiserweight champion, is the mandatory challenger for Joshua’s WBO belt. A Joshua-Usyk bout would give Fury time to fulfil his contractual obligation to Wilder while maintaining the possibility of a unification bout by the end of 2021. Hearn said he spoke to Usyk’s promoter and told him there’s a “good chance” Joshua will face Usyk if Fury isn’t an immediate option.

“It would be in an ideal world if the right deal could be done, to maintain those belts and to keep the Fury fight alive for probably December but for the undisputed [title] as well,” Hearn said in the Matchroom video.

Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) holds three of the four major belts, and Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) has the other one. Their promoters have been in extended negotiations for an all-British summer showdown.