Win or lose Joshua may fight after Usyk rematch
The obvious target for Joshua is fellow Brit and WBC champion Tyson Fury who is planning to end his short-lived retirement to face Derek Chisora
Nigeria-born former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua 24-2 (22) is hoping to return to the ring in December regardless of the result of his upcoming fight against Oleksandr Usyk 19-0 (13) at the Jeddah Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on August 20.
The 32-year-old Brit lost his WBA, WBO and IBF titles to Ukrainian southpaw Usyk, 35, by unanimous decision in Tottenham, England last September. The scores were 117-112, 115-113 and 116-112.
The obvious target for Joshua is fellow Brit and WBC champion Tyson Fury 32-0-1 (23), who this week indicated he was planning to end his short-lived retirement to face Derek Chisora 33-12 (23) in a trilogy bout. Fury, 33, defeated Chisora by unanimous decision in 2011 and stopped him in 10 rounds three years later.
Joshua typically fights twice a year, but largely due to the global coronavirus pandemic he was limited to just one outing in the past two calendar years.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn is looking to change that.
“I think, you know, it’s an August fight [against Usyk],” the Matchroom Boxing boss said on The DAZN Boxing Show.
“We really want to get active with AJ. I think he’s struggled with activity mainly through the pandemic but also because of the size of his shows. He wants to – win, lose, or draw – fight in December.”
Joshua’s domestic rival Fury announced he was retiring following his sixth-round knockout victory over mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte 28-3 (19) in London in April. But the self-proclaimed ‘Gypsy King’ has refused to relinquish his WBC belt, leaving the door open to returning to the ring as champion.
Hearn still believes Fury vs Joshua is one of the biggest fights in boxing.
“Obviously, we’re going for the win (against Usyk) and I believe he is going to be victorious and if so we’d look straight for the Tyson Fury fight for undisputed,” Hearn said.
“It’s the biggest fight out there in boxing, the biggest fight of all time. The key for AJ is activity, for sure.
“I believe actually that AJ-Fury will happen regardless of August 20th. Like I said, if and when AJ wins, that fight is the biggest fight in the history of the sport. Not just in our generation – the history of the sport.
“And Tyson’s brilliant – jokes aside. He’s a character, he’s a great fighter, he’s funny, what he’s come back from is incredible, I give him all the respect in the world. I just take what he says with a pinch of salt.”
