Anthony Joshua to be DENIED Oleksandr Usyk trilogy if he beats Daniel Dubois with ‘huge’ fight to be offered instead
ANTHONY JOSHUA faces the prospect of being denied another shot at Oleksandr Usyk – with a “huge” fight to be offered instead.
AJ lost the unified heavyweight world titles to Usyk in September 2021 before losing the rematch 11 months later in Saudi Arabia.
Usyk, 37, has since defeated Tyson Fury, 36, in May when he became the first four-belt undisputed heavyweight champion.
But he was forced to vacate the IBF belt to proceed with his December 21 rematch with Fury back in Riyadh.
Daniel Dubois, 26, was elevated from interim champ and defends the belt against Joshua, 34, on September 21 at Wembley.
If AJ and Fury prevail it sets up a blockbuster British grudge match for all the titles.
But Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh plans to make an offer for the fight regardless of the separate results.
Alalshikh told talkSPORT: “For the business, of course, it will be a huge fight if Joshua wins.
“His third time [winning] a world title and [after] the result of Usyk vs Fury it will be a huge fight.
“But you don’t know about the future. Imagine Tyson after the fight with Usyk wants to retire.
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
“I will give him the offer, but if he refuses, what can I do? First of all, Dubois has a very big chance and it is not easy.
“I think it is a difficult fight for Joshua and a dangerous fight for Joshua. If Usyk wins, still I want to see Fury vs Joshua if they accept.
“I will not try to do the third fight [between Usyk and Joshua] before having Fury vs Joshua. I think Joshua will win [against Dubois] but you don’t know.
“I picked Deontay Wilder against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, and he lost. This is boxing, especially the heavyweights.
“But I want to see Fury versus Joshua and the world wants to see Fury versus Joshua.”