Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk could be delayed due to Anthony Joshua plan
Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk could be shelved until well into next year to allow a massive boxing card involving Anthony Joshua.
The two heavyweight champions have finally agreed a deal to fight with a provisional date of December 23 in Saudi Arabia. However, Fury and Usyk could instead meet in the spring, topping an incredible bill including Joshua against fellow former heavyweight king Deontay Wilder.
Joshua, 34, who raised the prospect of the mouthwatering mega-contest taking place as early as March, also revealed his next fight will be in London, at either the O2 or Wembley Arena, in December. Fury is back in action against former UFC world heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou next Saturday before turning his attention to the Ukrainian.
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Speaking in Austin ahead of Sunday’s United States Grand Prix, Joshua, said: “They want to put Usyk v Fury and Joshua v Wilder on the same night. When Fury gets through Ngannou it is going to be late October going into November so I doubt he will prepare for Usyk and then fight in December. It is too short.
“So, the next window will be in March or April and that is when the undisputed fight will happen. What we are being told is that they want to make it a mega-card.”
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Following two defeats to Usyk, Joshua got back on track for a future meeting with former WBC belt-holder Wilder by knocking out Finnish fighter Robert Helenius in the seventh round at London’s O2 in August.
Asked about the identity of his opponent in December, Joshua said: “It won’t be a championship fighter, which is Usyk and Fury. It won’t be none of them guys and I am not too sure about the Wilder situation.”
Asked why a date has not yet been set to face Wilder, Joshua said of the American: “It feels like a land grab at the moment. Some fighters want to maximise their revenue. When I first started, you start, you build up your record, you fight and then you fight the big fights.
“But it is like, ‘where can we get the most money for the fight?’. And they want to go to Saudi Arabia so they are waiting for the undisputed fight. For my career I have got to stay busy. And in terms of an opponent for December, we have got to find the right opponent.”
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