Alex Krassyuk says he is in talks with Eddie Hearn to make Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk with Tyson Fury vs Joshua now in grave doubt, Furyjoshua.com can reveal.
It is only 48 hours since Fury took to social media on Sunday to announce that his eagerly-awaited unification showdown with AJ would take place in Saudi Arabia on Saturday August 14.
But just 24 hours later came the news that Deontay Wilder had won the ruling against Fury in the arbitration over their collapsed trilogy fight in 2020.
The ruling – per multiple reports – says Fury must now meet Wilder by September 15 or agree an extension with him.
Usyk next for Joshua?
Now though it appears as though the biggest fight in British boxing history could be coming apart at the seams swiftly. Step forward Usyk.
The Ukrainian former cruiserweight king (18-0) has been the mandatory challenger for AJ’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) title for almost two years, and was supposed to get a title shot once Joshua had disposed of Kubrat Pulev last December.
The WBO though decided to sanction Fury vs Joshua for all the marbles, with Usyk then having to face Joe Joyce for the interim title.
Now though it appears all bets are off, and with Fury vs Joshua in serious doubt Usyk may get his shot at AJ after all.
Krassyuk in talks over Joshua vs Usyk
Krassyuk, boss of Usyk’s promoter K2, told Furyjoshua.com: “AJ has to face Usyk next. We are in talks with Eddie. Hope we can replace the canceled “undisputed” for “unified between two London Olympic Champions.”
Usyk cemented his position as mandatory for the WBO belt by outpointing Dereck Chisora in London last October. That was his second win since moving up to boxing’s marquee weight class.
What’s up heavyweight????
Did you miss me?#usykUSYK 17 pic.twitter.com/ATEnqzYEF6
— Alexander Usyk (@usykaa) May 13, 2021
The Wilder bombshell is a nightmare for the Fury and Joshua camps, right at the moment it seemed their superfight was about to be sealed.
Saudi Arabia was reportedly set to stump up an enormous $155million (£109million) site fee to host the bout. Riyadh or Jeddah was set to provide the location, with a new stadium potentially being built specifically for the occasion.
Now though literally everything is up in the air, and we could get Joshua vs Usyk and Fury vs Wilder 3 before we see Fury vs Joshua.
