After Deontay Wilder poured cold water on Tyson Fury’s heavyweight undisputed war with Anthony Joshua, the latter’s probabilities of facing Oleksandr Usyk have unquestionably increased. Moreover, the WBO has given a 10-day timeline (31st May 2021) to Joshua and Usyk’s teams to finalize the deal or the fight will go to purse bids.
The WBO also gave ‘AJ’ and his team a 48-hour ultimatum that ended on May 21st. Here, Joshua had to prove whether his fight with Fury would go ahead. As it isn’t going ahead, Joshua is now all set to make his mandatory WBO title defense against Usyk.
Recently, Usyk‘s promoter, Alexander Krassyuk, interacted with Sky Sports on this matter. He said, “According to my knowledge, AJ is ready to take the challenge.”
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“It may happen anywhere including Wembley, but yet no serious venue commitments have been made.”
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Both Joshua and Eddie Hearn were eager to book a 12-round war with ‘The Gypsy King’ in a perfect setting. But Deontay Wilder took the legal route to secure a trilogy with the Fury. As the arbitrator ruled in favor of the Alabama native, Matchroom, too, had to seek an alternative opponent for ‘AJ’.
In Oleksandr Usyk, they have a readymade elite opponent.
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk – when will this fight go on floors?
Until now, there is nothing official regarding Joshua vs Usyk’s tentative dates and location. However, both Eddie Hearn and ‘AJ’ would look to wrap up this bout by September.
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This is because the early staging of these fights might subsequently help Joshua and Fury collide by the end of 2021. That said, the next few days will prove to be extremely vital in determining the immediate future of the division.
Do you envision Joshua beating Oleksandr Usyk? Will this be an exciting bout?