Joshua left red-faced as Usyk plans before their fight come to light

Anthony Joshua falls by split decision in Oleksandr Usyk rematch

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Anthony Joshua has been left red-faced after Oleksandr Usyk hinted that he already had plans in place to face Tyson Fury after their rematch. The Ukrainian states that he was due to face Fury in December when the original July 21 date for the AJ fight was in place.

However, with the fight being delayed to August 20 – the undisputed clash with Fury was pushed back to early 2023.

“Initially the fight in Saudi with AJ was planned to take place in July then it was shifted for one month, so we had to shift the other fight which was also planned in accordance with the time frame. So, July 21 and December something,” Usyk told Seconds Out.

“As long as the fight took place on August 20 the second fight had to be moved a little bit so I could recover my body, I could restore my resources and get back in the ring in proper shape so that is actually the only reason that fight is happening this year. Regarding Tyson Fury, he is a very good athlete, he is a nice sportsman whom I respect but he’s not as cool as he talks about himself.”

The fact that Usyk was already planning who he’d fight next after AJ indicates just how confident he was that he’d defeat the Brit for a second time. Usyk is now expected to face Fury in March of next year in Saudi Arabia for all four major sanctioning body belts. In the same month, Usyk is expected to have his WBO mandatory defence against Joe Joyce ordered.

When asked about the possibility of facing Joyce next, Usyk joked: “No, I don’t want to fight with him, he’s like a tank. Leaving jokes aside, I want to fight for belts, I need to fight for the belts.”

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Usyk has affirmed that he will only consider fighting Fury next. His main priority is to become the first two-weight undisputed champion of the four-belt era having held the undisputed cruiserweight crown previously.

The Cat did show some interest in facing Wilder down the line but won’t consider The Bronze Bomber as an opponent until he has achieved his ultimate goal.

“My next opponent is Tyson Fury, I claim this now but when I get rid of Tyson Fury after I defeat him, I will be able to discuss that with Deontay,” Usyk continued.

“Undisputed is extremely important especially when you have that kind of chance that it doesn’t happen very often and I’m appealing to Tyson Fury, hey Tyson let’s make it happen, let’s make a present to the boxing fans, let’s fight, let’s determine who is best heavyweight in the world.”

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