Anthony Joshua has reacted to the news that negotiations for an undisputed heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have collapsed.
The Ukrainian side has officially ‘unplugged’ about its intention to clash 4 belts with Furyciting ‘unacceptable’ and ‘disrespectful’ requests.
It’s news that has fans once again bemoaning the state of boxing, especially as the fight seems imminent as Usyk has only received 30% of the money recently.
‘AJ’ is a keen observer not only as a top heavyweight in the tournament but also because of his well-publicized goal of being the undisputed. Usyk finds that unlikely by beating him twice in a row, taking his unification titles first and keeping them at the second.
Despite the losses, Joshua points out the fact that the fights were actually done — something Fury probably wouldn’t be able to claim.
“Look at all the damn stuff they’re going through with this Usyk thing. This is crazy. I don’t make everything public so it’s good that people are starting to see what’s going on in the negotiations.
It’s good that people can actually see what people have to endure to fight, Usyk and I have done two successful fights. Is crazy.”
The Olympic gold medalist also has experience negotiating directly with Fury. The pair began spontaneous negotiations late last year after Joshua lost his rematch to Usyk.
It was a time filled with public demands and deadlines from Fury that Joshua couldn’t commit to, and ultimately no fight was made.
Unfortunately, the same thing seems to have happened again, and Lennox Lewis seems to have remained the most recent undisputed heavyweight champion for a while – even if that was two decades ago.
