It appears that Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua might clash once again.
‘The Cat’ and ‘AJ’ are fresh off their fight in Saudi Arabia last month. The bout was a rematch of their September 2021 showdown in the U.K. In their first bout, Usyk dominated en route to a unanimous decision victory to earn heavyweight gold.
To the British star’s credit, the rematch was much closer. In the second outing last month, the combatants went back and forth, with Joshua nearly getting a finish in round nine. However, Usyk survived and won via split decision to retain his titles.
Prior to the contest, it was presumed that the winner of the matchup would challenge Tyson Fury next. However, due to a nagging injury to Usyk, ‘The Gypsy King’ tried to arrange a bout between himself and Joshua.
However, earlier this week, the WBC Heavyweight Champion pulled the plug on the bout. It was because Joshua didn’t sign the fight contract by Monday evening, a deadline given to him by Fury. Fury is now targeting a showdown with contender Mahmoud Charr.
With Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua both without opponents, the former has discussed a possible trilogy matchup. In an interview with Parimatch, the Heavyweight Champion revealed that he would be open to a third encounter with ‘AJ’, especially if it takes place in his home country of Ukraine.
In the interview, the 35-year-old stated:
“If [Tyson] Fury doesn’t agree I think we could try to have another fight. We already had a match in London and in Saudi Arabia as well, so the next one could be at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv.”
Oleksandr Usyk discusses a move to Cruiserweight
It appears that Oleksandr Usyk is open to anything next.
While ‘The Cat’ is the current Heavyweight Champion, he is also a former Cruiserweight Champion. In 2019, Oleksandr Usyk made the decision to move up in weight, and it’s worked out well so far.
However, the 35-year-old has teased a possible showdown with Canelo Alvarez in the past few months. In an interview with Parimatch, Usyk discussed a move down to cruiserweight, but it won’t be for a bout with the Mexican superstar.
Oleksander Usyk stated that if he moves down in weight, it’ll be to capture more belts. In the interview, he stated:
“I was thinking about returning to Cruiserweight and getting a few more of the world belts. You know, being a heavyweight means you have to be really heavy. You must eat a lot. It’s not hard to fight with these giants, but it’s really hard to eat all the time.”
