Anthony Joshua Proposes Big Duel With Deontay Wilder, Together With Tyson Fury Vs. Oleksandr Usyk

Anthony Joshua (left) beat Helenius in a round a year ago. (photo: twitter @anthonyjoshua)

JAKARTA - Anthony Joshua said his match against Deontay Wilder could be part of a sensational doubles event with Tyson Fury's fight against Oleksandr Usyk.

Heavyweight world champions Fury and Usyk have agreed to fight in October for a historic heavyweight true champion. This fight will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

"They want to hold the Usyk-Fury fight, Joshua-Wilder on the same night. That may not have happened until April," Joshua told BBC Sport and other outlets on the sidelines of the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, October 22.

Former world heavyweight champion Joshua has been heavily linked to the fight against American hard boxer Deontay Wilder. "We have agreed to the amount of money, we have agreed to everything," said promoter Eddie Hearn.

However, the fight failed and no contract was ever signed between the two parties.

Fury, 35, had to first qualify unharmed in a non-stage battle against MMA star Francis Ngannou, on Saturday 28 October in Riyadh.

"When Fury goes through a fight with Ngannou, it will be the end of October or early November, so I doubt he will soon be prepared for Usyk and fight in December, it's too short," Joshua said.

"So the next window is likely to be in March-April, so it's a possibility that a deadlocked fight will happen," he added. "Then, it's clear what was told us that they wanted to make it a big event and they liked Joshua's voice against Wilder on the same card too."

Briton Fury is the WBC and Usyk champions, who are from Ukraine and 36 years old, holding WBA, WBO, and IBF titles. The winner will be crowned the first true heavyweight champion in the era of four belts, as it is today.

Fury has won 33 games with one draw since turning to professional boxer in 2008. Usyk - who has won all 21 of his professional fights - defended his title against London boxer Daniel Dubois last August.

"The heavyweight game has always captivated fans' imaginations, and I'm sure it will be the biggest boxing event of the century," Fury promoter Frank Warren said last September when the fight was announced, with a planned date on December 23.

Fury won his first world title after beating Klitschko in 2015. After well-documented mental health problems, he returned more than two and a half years later. He competed in trilogy with Wilder and, after a draw in the first fight, beat the American in 2020 to become the WBC champion.

Fury won his third fight with Wilder and has since defended his title against boxers Briton Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora.

Usyk is one of the most decorated boxers in the world. This Ukrainian boxer, who won the 2012 Olympic gold medal in London, became world champion in Badminton before defeating Joshua in 2021.

Joshua has won two wins this year, against Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius, after suffering two consecutive defeats by Usyk when his previously dominant career experienced problems.

In a rapid increase in starship, the boxer who won the 2012 Olympic gold medal became the world champion in his 16th fight, defeating his first 20 opponents by knockout, and uniting the division in his 21st fight.

Among these events, he defeated Klitschko in 2017 in the last match of Klitschko in one of the best fights of all time.

Wilder, who turned 38 on Sunday, October 22, holds the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020, managed to defend his title 10 times.

He has only fought once since his first two defeats to Fury, in October 2021, beating Helenius in a round a year ago.

Joshua is likely to fight in December Joshua said he plans to fight in December in London, perhaps at the O2 or Wembley Arena, against an unannounced opponent, before facing Wilder.