Oleksandr Usyk 18-0 (13) has no plans to step aside to allow unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua 24-1 (22) to face Tyson Fury 30-0-1 (21) in his next fight, according to his promoter.
WBA, WBO and IBF champion Joshua has an in-principal agreement in place to face WBC counterpart Fury twice this year, but Ukrainian southpaw Usyk is insisting on getting his WBO mandated title shot first.
“According to now the deadline is more for Fury and AJ not for Usyk,” Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk told Sky Sports.
“There were talks about an interim title or the AJ vs Fury winner relinquishing the WBO title the next day [after they fight].
“But as for today Usyk is the WBO mandatory and never gave his consent for the [Joshua vs Fury] bout to happen without him.
“Usyk is in good conditions now, he successfully recovered from his last fight and looks forward to fight challenge the title this spring.”
Nothing less than a world title fight next will satisfy former undisputed cruiserweight king Usyk, 33, who is coming off a 12-round unanimous decision win over perennial contender Dereck Chisora in London last October.
“A non-title fight has never been under discussion and I really hope it will never be,” Krassyuk said.
Meanwhile, Joshua insisted negotiations for the Fury fight are moving forward apace.
“I promise you, conversations and face-to-face meetings are happening with representations of my team and Tyson Fury’s team,” the 31-year-old Londoner said.
The location for the proposed Joshua-Fury bout remains very much up in the air with Covid-19 crowd restrictions in the UK looking likely to push the mega-fight abroad.
“Both camps have a responsibility to maximise the revenue for their biggest fight – this is the pinnacle of their careers, the biggest moment, nothing will ever beat it,” Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn recently told Sky Sports.
“At the same time, we all recognise this is two Brits fighting for the undisputed championship of the world. If there is a way to do it in the UK? Fantastic.”
Joshua, who last fought in December when he knocked out IBF mandatory Kubrat Pulev in nine frames in London, expects the first Fury fight to take place in June.
“I’m not too fussed where it is. I just want to get the fight, because there’s so many variables, and so much for me to look at,” he said.
“Where is it going to be? Is he going to take the fight? Have I got a mandatory?
“I’ve just stripped it all back now and stopped dealing with that stuff. I’ve just said, ‘Let me just fight Tyson Fury wherever it is, whatever time it is.’”
