Tyson Fury we know will now face Deontay Wilder in his next fight, this a third fight with “The Bronze Bomber,” set for July 24. With this, Anthony Joshua is also looking to put the disappointment of the falling apart of his mega-fight with Fury behind him by focusing on a new fight of his own – most likely a fight with his WBO mandatory challenger, Oleksandr Usyk.
A couple of dates have been bandied around for this potential fight, both dates in the month of August. So what happens if/when AJ and the former undisputed cruiserweight king collide? Who wins?
Bob Arum hasn’t gone as far as he went ahead of the Joshua-Kubrat Pulev fight, when the Top Rank boss said again and again how his guy Pulev would take Joshua out, but the Hall of Fame promoter has said he feels Usyk has a “hell of a chance” against the reigning and defending WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight champion.
Speaking with IFL TV, Arum said the following:
“I think Joshua has his hands full with Usyk, I give Usyk a hell of a chance to beat Joshua in that fight. Hopefully, Tyson [Fury] comes through [against Wilder in fight-three] and we can do the unification fight in December of this year.”
Presumably, Arum feels Usyk’s blend of skill, speed, and southpaw trickiness will give Joshua all he can handle. Arum has been critical of Joshua’s chin in the past, this largely due to the shock KO Joshua suffered at the hands of Andy Ruiz a couple of years ago, on June 1, 2019 (how time flies), but he has not predicted an Usyk KO win. But Arum is not alone when it comes to experts thinking Usyk gives Joshua trouble.
But can Usyk, 18-0(13), actually get the win? If so, we might end up seeing Fury fight Usyk for all the marbles. Or even Wilder against Usyk for all the heavyweight belts! Who has the tougher fight: Fury against proven puncher Wilder, or Joshua against master boxer Usyk?
How crazy it would be if both Fury and Joshua lost their next fight. It could happen.