Anthony Joshua 24-1 (22) will need to get past former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk 18-0 (13) at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in Tottenham, England on Saturday night to keep alive his dream of becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
The WBA, WBO and IBF champion was expected to meet WBC counterpart Tyson Fury 30-0-1 (21) in the northern summer before an independent arbitrator ruled Fury was contractually obliged to face former titleholder Deontay Wilder 42-1-1 (41) for a third time.
In light of the ruling, Joshua moved on to face his WBO mandatory Usyk, a tricky southpaw from the Ukraine.
Fury will clash with 35-year-old American Wilder in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 9.
Joshua, 31, and Fury, 33, are still expected to meet in 2022 but a loss for either of the Brits could throw those plans into disarray.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn is well aware of this.
“He has to beat Oleksandr Usyk to keep the undisputed dream alive and he wasn’t prepared to swerve the challenge of Oleksandr Usyk, he’s not that kind of guy,” the Matchroom Boxing boss told Sky Sports News.
“[Usyk is] definitely a top-five heavyweight in the world. Maybe the number one heavyweight in the world – this is the scary thing.”
The 34-year-old Usyk has had two fights at heavyweight since moving up in weight two years ago. He defeated late replacement Chazz Witherspoon by seventh-round stoppage in Chicago in October 2019 and earned a close points decision over gatekeeper Dereck Chisora in London twelve months later.
“You go back to great cruiserweights in the world that have gone up to heavyweight,” Hearn continued. “You talk about Evander Holyfield. It took him a couple of fights for people to recognize him as a true threat to the division.
“Usyk has boxed Witherspoon and then Chisora. People are saying, ‘Has he got it, has he not?’ Maybe now he does! I hope he doesn’t but he might do.”
Joshua, who typically weighs in around the 245-pound mark, has promised to come in lighter for this fight to be able to keep up with the mobility and movement of Usyk. He is expected to weigh in closer to 235-pounds.
Usyk has weighed in at an average 216-pounds in his two heavyweight bouts to date.
But the fight won’t be determined on weight. The real battle, according to Hearn, will be one of intellect and ring IQ.
“It’s a great battle of minds as well. One thing that’s so scary about Usyk is his mind and his ability to work out an opponent, and to out-think them,” Hearn said.
“AJ wants to show his skill in this fight as well as his brutality. I just hope we see a little bit more of the brutality.”
