Anthony Joshua’s victory over novice Francis Ngannou has created more fan interest in a fight between him and Tyson Fury.
It doesn’t matter to fans that Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) didn’t beat a top-shelf heavyweight last Friday. In their minds, beating the former MMA champion Ngannou (0-2) was good enough to set the table for a fight between AJ and Fury (34-0-1, 24 Kos).
The Maze to Joshua vs. Fury
Fans will still have to wait to see if WBC champion Fury defeats IBF/WBA/WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk on May 18th before they find out if he and Joshua will be fighting this year or in 2025.
Even if Fury is victorious against Usyk, AJ may still need to wait until the two meet in a rematch before he gets to fight the winner for the belts.
Saudi chief Turki Al-Alshikh will decide whether Joshua must wait for Fury and Usyk to fight twice. It’s fair to say that if Fury beats Usyk on May 18th, Turki will choose to make Fury-Joshua next at the end of the year.
Joshua’s Rebound, Fury’s Challenge
“He’s really back, and a lot of people now fancy him to beat Usyk in a third fight. He got very close the second time,” said Gareth A. Davies to iFL TV’s YouTube channel, reacting to Anthony Joshua’s win over Francis Ngannou.
“Tyson Fury is a different fighter than anyone Joshua has fought. He’s very evasive, he ties you up, and he’s very clever. This makes the prospect of a Joshua-Fury fight enormous. In some ways, it’s a pity that we may have to wait a year to see that fight.”
Joshua will surely be given the green light by His Excellency to fight the winner of the Fury vs. Usyk match on May 18th, unless Oleksandr emerges victorious. There’s no way that we’ll see Joshua fighting Usyk immediately, even if the Saudis want it.
Promoter Eddie Hearn will surely come up with a reason why Joshua can’t fight Usyk, knowing that if this match were to take place, it would ruin things for the Fury-Joshua mega-clash. But if Fury wins on May 18th, it’s almost certain that the Saudis will have Joshua fight him immediately without having to wait for Tyson’s rematch with Usyk.