Eddie Hearn: 'Anthony Joshua may fight mandatory Oleksandr Usyk before Tyson Fury super fight'

Anthony Joshua could face Oleksandr Usyk after his mandatory defence against Kubrat Pulev to maintain status of undisputed super fight with Tyson Fury

Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn believes that Anthony Joshua could face Oleksandr Usyk after his bout with Kubrat Pulev, in order to remain WBO world champion and keep the belts on the line for a potential crunch undisputed hevyweight clash with Tyson Fury.

The two-time world champion is set to face Pulev in December with the current uncertainty ongoing surrounding the pandemic, providing fight negotiations with several stumbling blocks in recent months, but Joshua is keen to remain active and fight in 2020.

Joshua has been heavily linked with a super fight with Tyson Fury, but both Fury and the Watford born Joshua must complete a set of mandatory challenges to maintain their titles, with Fury also set to face another rematch with Deontay Wilder in 2020.

However Hearn believes that Joshua may have to complete the fight with the Ukranian to ensure that the bout with Fury can go ahead with all the belts in the line, but concedes there are several permutations that could occur before the huge British fight can take place.

He told DAZN: "Oleksandr Usyk is another problem. Tyson Fury has the problem of Dillian Whyte or Alexander Povetkin, and AJ has the problem of Oleksandr Usyk. So I think AJ would prefer that Dereck Chisora sticks one on Usyk’s chin and take that problem away. Of course, the focus for the majority of the fight fans is to see the undisputed heavyweight world championship. And that is the focus for Anthony Joshua.

As I said before, he wants to win the WBC world title. He does want to fight Tyson Fury, but he wants to fight the guy that has the belt.

It was Wilder, but now it’s Fury. If it’s Dillian Whyte, then he wants to fight him, so we have to try and find a way to maintain our belts as well because that’ll be difficult because the WBO will want the winner of Pulev against Joshua to fight Oleksandr Usyk. So there are lots of different permutations. Maybe Joshua against Fury for no belts, and just calling it the best heavyweight in the world. Who knows what’s going to happen. We all want all the straps to be on the line.

“So maybe we’ll see Joshua fight Usyk if he beats Chisora in the spring or summer of next year, and then we’ll do the undisputed after. So its critical to Anthony that the belts are on the line,” said Hearn.

Regarding the rescheduled mandatory defence against Kubrat Pulev, the Matchroom promoter believes that a date can be st for December, and Joshua may have to accept that his bout will take place with a limited capacity for fans to attend.

“So the later we go, the better,” said Hearn. “We have a date of early December for Anthony Joshua, where we hope live crowds will return. If they don’t, then he has to box behind closed doors because he wants to advance his career. It’ll have been a year since the Andy Ruiz fight [in December 2019]. Most fighters now are having that one-year layoff. It’s not ideal for a career. That’s another thing with Dillian Whyte.

He’s taking a risk not just Alexander Povetkin, but he’s taking a risk financially with the upside of the show. That shows you he’s up for it, and Anthony Joshua wants to fight as well. Of course, every fighter and their agent and adviser wants to be paid as much money as possible. But also, they want to make sure they keep advancing their career and going in the right direction.

And Anthony Joshua will fight this year, crowd or no crowd, and that’ll be in early December, most likely against Kubrat Pulev.”

The British heavyweight last fought back in December 2019, where he avenged his defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr. displaying a different side to his career, with a superb composed boxing display but may return to his explosive self looking or a huge knockout to round off an uncertain year for the 30-year-old.

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