Joshua should allow Usyk v Fury unification bout, insists Warren

Frank Warren claims Anthony Joshua ‘shouldn’t go through’ with his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk and should allow the Ukrainian to face Tyson Fury in huge unification showdown instead

  • Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury hold all the major belts in heavyweight division
  • The Gypsy King retained his WBC title by beating Deontay Wilder on Sunday
  • The Ukrainian became the new unified heavyweight champion last month 
  • But Anthony Joshua has triggered his rematch clause against Usyk for 2022
  • Frank Warren claims Joshua should step aside for now to allow Usyk to face Fury 

Anthony Joshua should step aside for now and let Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury face off in a heavyweight unification fight, according to Frank Warren.

The Ukrainian and the Gypsy King hold all the major belts in the division between them following showdowns against Joshua and Deontay Wilder in the last three weeks.

Fury defended his WBC title in Las Vegas at the weekend with an 11th-round knockout of the Bronze Bomber, just a few weeks after Usyk became the new unified heavyweight world champion after dethroning Joshua at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Anthony Joshua (L) should step aside to allow a unification bout between Oleksandr Usyk (R) and Tyson Fury, according to Frank Warren

Usyk became the new unified world champion last month after beating Joshua in north London

Joshua however triggered his rematch clause earlier this week in an attempt to win back his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts in a second bout against Usyk which is set to take place in March next year.

That means it is highly unlikely Fury and Usyk could face each other in the next 12 months, and the former’s UK-based promoter Warren has therefore urged Joshua to face the winner of a unification clash instead because he cannot see him winning the rematch. 

‘He [Joshua] shouldn’t be going through with it [rematch against Usyk],’ Warren told Sky Sports. 

‘I think Usyk will beat him again. If there had been another 20 seconds, Usyk would have stopped AJ. He wobbled him early and nearly took him out. Next time around he will fancy knocking AJ over. I can’t see AJ winning that rematch.

Fury then defended his WBC title at the weekend with a victory against Deontay Wilder

Joshua however has triggered  rematch clause with Usyk for a fight in spring next year

‘If he knocks it on the head, it opens the door for us to do the unification [Fury vs Usyk]. Let AJ get a warm-up fight. He needs a winning mentality before he goes into [a rematch with Usyk].

‘Maybe he fights the winner [of Fury vs Usyk] which is still a big fight.’ 

However, Warren insisted his fighter Fury would be able to beat the Ukrainian star, insisting his gameplan would differ to Joshua’s in north London last month.

‘They have similar skills,’ Warren added. ‘Tyson wouldn’t fight him like AJ did. Tyson would use his physical attributes, his size and reach, and would win the fight.’

Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk meanwhile insisted of Usyk plans to fight Fury once he ‘defeats AJ in the rematch’. 

But Fury’s UK promoter Warren (L) believes Joshua should allow a unification bout instead

Krassyuk added: ‘He [Usyk] was [impressed with how Fury beat Wilder]. And he was impressed with how the boxers fought without showing boxing skills. They were trying to [badly hurt] each other.’

But speaking to The Sun, he later said: ‘Wilder and Fury, in the shape they performed in the fight are a sweet dessert for Usyk because none of them performed with boxing skills.

‘If Usyk shows his technique, his style of technique, I don’t think either Fury or Wilder can do anything serious to Usyk.’

Fury meanwhile has been handed a 45-day medical suspension from boxing following his epic victory at the T-Mobile Arena.

He was unwilling to talk about the future in the aftermath of his seismic victory over Wilder, but is expected to defend his WBC title against mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte next year, if the Londoner defeats Otto Wallin this month.

Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk says Fury couldn’t do ‘anything serious’ to the Ukrainian 

Fury touched down in Manchester on Tuesday and his US promoter, Bob Arum, said he will discuss future plans with the Gypsy King in the next couple of weeks. 

‘I haven’t talked to him about that, I called him and he had just been back in Manchester for a few hours and we had a nice conversation,’ Arum told iFL TV.

‘I have learned after an event like that you don’t talk to the fighter about what’s next for at least a couple of weeks. Let him relax, let him enjoy, then we will figure out what is best for him.’ 




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