Joshua wants £20m to not fight – but demands a shot at Usyk vs. Fury

Nigeria born British boxer Anthony Joshua wants close to £20 million and a guarantee that he will fight the winner before agreeing to step aside and allow Oleksandr Usyk to take on Tyson Fury reports The Times of London.

Joshua has activated a rematch clause to face Usyk again in April after surrendering his WBA, IBF and WBO belts to the talented Ukrainian boxer last year.

 But he is prepared to let Usyk instead take on Fury in a bid to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world if his demands are met.

Sources close to Joshua have confirmed to The Times that the figure required to persuade the 32-year-old Briton not to climb in the ring is an eye-watering sum of money.

But more importantly, those sources insist, is a contractual agreement that means Joshua will have the opportunity to make his own bid for the undisputed crown by fighting the winner of Fury versus Usyk. Discussions are active, with an agreement likely to be reached in the next fortnight.

The plan for an all-British heavyweight bout between Fury and Joshua had to be abandoned when Usyk conquered Joshua in London. Fury delivered on his front, beating Deontay Wilder for the second time to retain the WBC heavyweight title.

Joshua, however, had a separate re-match agreement with Usyk, which is now proving a stumbling block for those now pushing to get Fury and Usyk in the same ring. An agreement would also require the WBC mandatory challenger, Dillian Whyte, to step aside. Whyte remains in a legal dispute with the WBC over the matter.

Initially, Joshua dismissed claims that he was seeking a huge compensation fee to remove that obstacle. “Stop listening to the bull**** until it comes from me,” he said.

In the background, though, his promoter, Eddie Hearn, is understood to be trying to negotiate such a detail, but with a requirement that his fighter has it in writing that he then has the chance to claim boxing’s ultimate prize.

This week Alex Krassyuk, Usyk’s promoter, said: “We are in talks regarding Tyson Fury since November. Though Anthony Joshua gave his consent [reportedly] we still have not reached final point in negotiations. Unless we get it — AJ rematch remains the basic option for us.”