Two-time former unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) is fresh off a sensational performance against former UFC legend Francis Ngannou (0-2). Meanwhile, there has been a persistent ramble about Joshua fighting Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) if he ends up winning his two fights against Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs). On the contrary, there has been little to no talk of a potential bout in the event of Usyk emerging as the victor in the Fury showdowns. In fact, Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk, is certain that Joshua will not be willing to rumble with ‘The Cat’ for the third time.
Krassyuk was recently interviewed by World Boxing News. In conversation, he dusted off any ideas of a trilogy fight. Moreover, he claimed that it might even be dangerous for Joshua to attempt to do so.
“It might look like a gambling addiction to many. After you’ve lost money on roulette, you come back full of confidence. You bet twice or three times more than you’ve lost, expecting your bet to win. But in the end, you realize that you have lost everything,” Krassyuk said.
He further stated that the sequence of mandatories makes the fight even less probable. “As we all know, the next stop of the carousel is IBF, not the WBC,” he said.
Joshua had previously lost his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles to Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in 2021. He had attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to reclaim his titles the very next year at a showdown in Saudi Arabia.
Anthony Joshua’s wait for the title may not be as long
There have been talks about Joshua facing IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) for the soon-to-be vacated IBF heavyweight title. But, with Hrgovic’s coach, Ronnie Shields’ latest statement, it looks like Joshua’s quest for the title just got a bit longer.
“We just found out that Hrgovic is going to be fighting on June 1, and it’s possibly going to be against Daniel Dubois in Saudi Arabia,” Shields said while talking to W.A.W. Boxing.
The IBF is next in line for the sanctioning body rotation and there is a possibility of Hrgovic facing the winner of Usyk vs Fury. Moreover, with both Fury and Usyk tied in a two-fight deal, the IBF has revealed that the winner would be stripped of the title in the event of a rematch. With Joshua at No.3 in the IBF’s world heavyweight rankings, only time will tell if he or Dubois will end up being elevated to challenge Hrgovic for the vacant IBF title once the commission strips the winner of Fury-Usyk.
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