Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed that Anthony Joshua is unhappy with the decision of the governing bodies ordering him to fight Oleksander Usyk.
Joshua’s proposed undisputed fight with Tyson Fury was called off last week after the latter put pen to paper on a contract committing him to a third fight with Deontay Wilder.
Hearn says Joshua may take the fight with Usyk, but he also may vacate the WBO belt if it doesn’t make “business sense” for them.
The pair are presumably looking are bigger money fights than what Usyk brings to the table. Usyk isn’t someone who will attract a lot of excitement from the fans, as he’s not done anything at heavyweight to make a name for himself.
Hearn has a couple of other options that he’s looking at for Joshua. But one will not rule out the fact that they are still furious about losing out on the Fury undisputed championship fight, and the last thing they want is for the body to order them around.
“We negotiate all the time with people who sometimes aren’t entitled to a fight, and we got it again now,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social. “The WBO straightaway sent a little in, ‘You’re now fighting him.’
“At some point, you want to turn around and say, ‘You know what? Why can’t we just breathe and do our own thing, but of course, he [Joshua] wants to be undisputed, and that’s why we’re considering our options.
“I think the most likely scenario is, we fight Oleksander Usyk. If the deal is right and everyone is sensible, yes, I think that fight happens.
“But I’ll tell you something right now. AJ is not in the mood, nor am I to be told what to do by governing bodies right now. There is no guarantee for an undisputed fight right now.
“What are we holding onto a belt right now for? Promises, dreams, whatever. But he [Joshua] respects his belts, and he wants to honor his belts, and he’s done that for the last four years. So that’s the likely scenario,” said Hearn.
