Anthony Joshua’s good friend Derek Chisora has stated that Joshua will not be facing Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk in his next fight.
Following his emphatic knockout victory against Francis Ngannou last month, former two-time world champion Joshua was assured a chance at the undisputed world titles.
However, with Fury and Usyk set to contest for all four heavyweight belts next month, their bout includes a two-way rematch clause, indicating that they will probably face each other again later this year, irrespective of the outcome.
According to Chisora, Queensbury Promotions will host an event at Wembley Stadium later this year, with Joshua set to headline the card.
“He will fight the winner of Daniel Dubois and Filip Hrgovic in Wembley. I’ve got a big mouth. That’s the plan. It’s gonna be a sick, a little adventure for Turki Alalshikh to bring it back to London,” Chisora told iFL TV.
A bout between Dubois and Hrgovic is expected to occur as part of the undercard for Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol’s undisputed fight in Saudi Arabia on June 1. If the IBF mandates Fury or Usyk to face their mandatory challenger Hrgovic, this fight could be for the IBF world title.
Another significant heavyweight fight between Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang, both of whom lost to Joseph Parker in their most recent fights, is also rumored to be on the same card.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, believes that if Fury triumphs over Usyk next month, a bout between Fury and Joshua will be arranged instead of a rematch with Usyk.
However, Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter, is firm in his stance that the two-fight undisputed agreement will be respected, potentially postponing a potential Fury vs Joshua matchup until March.
Hearn believes Joshua has now become the top heavyweight in the world following his impressive performance against Ngannou, which extended his undefeated streak to four fights. Fury dismissed the promoter’s assertion by referencing Joshua’s previous two defeats to Usyk.
I’m sure that Oleksandr Usyk will have something to say about that given he beat him twice,” Fury said.
“For the actual real boxing, it’s me and Oleksandr Usyk who fight for the undisputed heavyweight world championship of the world. I had a s*** performance against Francis Ngannou, that’s what a boxer should have done with him, but if he fights next year it’ll be a different game.”
