Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has denied reports of a $20 million USD step-side deal that would allow WBA, IBF, WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk to take a unification fight with WBC champ Tyson Fury.
In a video on social media, Joshua stated “You know what’s bad about all these interviews I see? I see certain interviews that quote what I’ve said, and I think to myself ‘I ain’t done no interviews? Where did this person get this information from?’
“I’m hearing people saying, ‘AJ accepts £15 million to step aside.’ I ain’t signed no contract, I ain’t seen no contract. So as it stands, stop listening to the bullshit until it comes from me.
“I’m the man in control of my destiny, I’m the man who handles my business. I’m a smart individual and I make calculated decisions every step of the way. Don’t listen to the bullshit from other sources, if I tell you something then you know it’s from me.”
Never heard of any such rumors until he started talking about it, but wish it was true lol
Why not allow a unification, then you can win all the titles at once in your next title fight
HE WON’T DO THAT MATT BECAUSE IF FURY SHOULD LOSE HE’D BE PLACED IN THE NUMBER 1 POSITION AND AJ WOULD LOSE HIS SPOT/… I SAY TAKE THE REMATCH INSIST ON IT… THEN WIN AND THEN FIGHT FURY… TWO PAY DAYS INSTEAD OF ONE… THAT MAKES MORE DOLLAR SENSE….
Chip: great point. If Fury was to lose, im sure they wld finagle an immeduate rematch clause and joshua wld lose out on basically a years worth of pay. Take the usyk fight and then come back after Fury. Thats my take aswell.
As much as I like AJ, I feel he’s gonna get dominated again by Usyk.
Arturo I agree Usyk is not Ruiz Usyk is on a mission
Wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world if he got some kind of guarantee to fight the winner on top of the money. I can’t imagine they’d offer him that much though.
Lucie: that wld be good if it was a solid contract. But i agree, thats a ton of money to step aside and i dont think usyk can really draw that much of a crow to make up for that dollar figure. I could be wrong though
I completely agree Tony. Fury – Usyk is a really big fight only because it leads to an undisputed champion. If only one of them had a belt and it would be a defense for them, I don’t think anyone is rushing to make that fight. And like you said, I don’t think it’s big enough, even with all the belts on the line, to potentially sustain starting $20 million in the hole.
If Joshua defeats Usyk in the rematch, beside to get a fat paycheck he would be on the driver seat to an eventual negotiation to face Fury. Money and rematch clause the most important. Lets Fury to face Whyte and Joshua Usyk, then talk.
AJ is shot, he needs another payday to cash out so he wont give up the rematch.
Fury in 2!
either he gots knocked out in 2 by Fury or Usyk boxes his ears off again. Lose, lose situation
Oleksandr Usyk will defeat Fury over 12 rounds ,ring savvy beyond Fury and has power and like Fury he can box . Can see him being a champion unified for a long time !
tired of reading about it. somebody just fight Furt.
other than in the UK, who cares about Joshua-Usyk 2 ?
Eddie Hearn and his rematch clauses 🙁 It should have been Usyk now fights who he wants to, including if it were Fury.
One small step for AJ, one giant leap for boxing. $20 million for such a small step. That is great value for money. Then challenge the winner after that while you still have market value. Go for it!
AJ would be an idiot to not take $20 million for NOT fighting. He can still fight the winner later.
Packy East
nobody is paying aj 20million to step aside..