Joshua confirms he is focusing on Usyk after Fury fight breaks down
Anthony Joshua has confirmed his focus is now on Oleksandr Usyk after his unification fight with Tyson Fury broke down.
WBA, IBF and WBO champion AJ was given a 48-hour deadline by the WBO on Wednesday to salvage his planned clash with the WBC titleholder.
read also:Joshua labels Fury a ‘fraud’ and claims rival ‘lied to the fans
If that was not met, he would then have to fulfil his mandatory defence against Usyk.
He and Fury were set to finally lock horns in Saudi Arabia in August until Deontay Wilder won an appeal in an arbitration court for him to receive a third fight with the Gypsy King.
That is set to be held in Las Vegas in July with Joshua now looking at a bout with Usyk.
And he appeared to confirm that the Ukrainian is now his target via his Snapchat.
AJ shared a shot of himself at the end of a previous fight looking into the crowd, with Usyk sat staring straight back at him.
He captioned the photo with the words: “Everyday is war.”
And Usyk’s promoter has told Sky Sports that Wembley Stadium could be the venue for an August bout between his man and the Brit.
=
“According to my knowledge, AJ is ready to take the challenge.
“It may happen anywhere including Wembley, but yet no serious venue commitments have been made.”
Meanwhile, Fury’s US promoter Bob Arum has confirmed Wilder will not agree to ‘step aside’ to allow the Joshua fight to happen – even though AJ offered to set-up a £20m GoFundMe page to raise the dosh.
Arum told Boxing Social: “No, there’s no chance that he [Wilder] will step aside. He doesn’t want to step aside, except for a totally preposterous number.
“The judge said he had a right to a rematch and we’re going to go ahead with it.”
Joshua lashed out at Fury earlier this week after being denied the August 14 Saudi blockbuster on Twitter.
He wrote: “Tyson Fury the world now see you for the fraud you are.
“You’ve let boxing down! You lied to the fans and led them on.
“Used my name for clout not a fight. Bring me any championship fighter who can handle their business correctly.”