The two-time heavyweight champion is hoping to get back in the ring following his defeat to Daniel Dubois, but the Brit has been handed a major blow
Anthony Joshua has been handed yet another blow after Oleksandr Usyk doubled down on his desire to fight Daniel Dubois next.
Usyk and Joseph Parker were recently ordered to begin negotiations for a mandatory heavyweight clash. The WBO revealed that the two teams have 30 days to reach terms following Parker’s win over Martin Bakole last month. In a publicly released notice, the WBO said: “Please be advised that the WBO World Championship Committee is hereby ordering the commencement of negotiations between the subject matters fighters to discharge the WBO mandatory championship obligation in the Heavyweight Division.
“By virtue of this order, the WBO Interim Championship shall be terminated expeditiously in compliance with our institutional policy of only one world champion per weight class. The parties have 30 days to reach terms. Failure to do so will result in this Committee ordering purse bid proceedings in accordance with WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests.”
The news served as a real confidence booster to ‘AJ’ who is hoping to avenge his defeat to ‘Triple D’. The pair met at Wembley Stadium last September with Dubois going on to knock Joshua out in the fifth round. However, Usyk has now thrown a spanner in the works after revealing his intent to take on Dubois next.
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In an interview with Al Arabiya News, the Ukrainian said: “We want to fight Dubois. My team is ready. A lot depends on how God will give us a way to do it and the second person who can do it is His Excellency, Turki Alalshikh, because he is the person who can organise this fight. I think there would be obstacles otherwise.
“The only person who can organise it is His Excellency and the Riyadh season. You know, I always fought on the land of my opponents. At present, Saudi Arabia has created the best environment, and organised these fights, so it has become like my second home. When I box in Saudi Arabia, it feels like our second home – great people, great fans. We can go to look around and meet with people. Currently, we cannot host fights in Ukraine, but we can have them in Saudi Arabia – they are very kind to us.”
With Usyk eager to face Dubois once again, reports have suggested that the potential undisputed heavyweight world title fight could take place at Wembley Stadium. Alexander Krassyuk, Usyk’s promoter, told Sky Sports: “We are now working on this fight [Usyk vs Dubois II], Wembley as one of the options.”
Both men went head-to-head back in 2023 – with Usyk going on to win via TKO in the ninth round in 2023. However, the major talking point came just before the midway point went Dubois sent the Ukrainian crashing to the canvas with a shot to the body – which was later deemed a low blow.
Should Usyk get his wish and go on to beat Dubois for a second time, he then hopes to face former UFC light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. The Brazilian recently lost his title to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, but ‘The Cat’ remains interested in a clash with ‘Poatan.’ “Yes, I would be interested [in a Pereira fight], but only after the fight with Daniel to merge our belts,” he said. “I even considered the option of fighting in a cage. It is a joke, but every joke contains an element of truth.”
