AJ prepares for the crunch Usyk rematch with Tyson Fury's step-aside proposal by Anthony Joshua.

ANTHONY JOSHUA said to Eddie Hearn that he would not accept a step-aside agreement that would allow Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to meet after a warm up fight.

AJ received a staggering PS15million to walk away from his rematch against Usyk, so Fury could face him in a multimillion-pound undisputed fight in Saudi Arabia.

The deal was almost done when Fury said he wanted to fight one bout before facing the undefeated Ukrainian. Joshua, Watford's warrior, immediately stopped Joshua.

Eddie Hearn, promoter of iFL TV said to iFL TV that all those conversations were initiated by Tyson Fury's group.

"We were willing to listen and make it happen.

We'll look into it if it gave AJ a chance at winning that fight, and it's financially feasible.

"The deal was simple: Fury vs Usyk. Joshua will fight the winner

"One of the issues was that we didn't trust him to fight March 26, June, and December. Warm-up, Usyk, Joshua? There's no way.

"The deal we discussed was not the deal because Tyson Fury would not fight Oleksandr Uzyk. Joshua said, 'No way, no way. '"

Fury and Dillian Whyte were set for a long-awaited grudge match after the Step-Aside agreement collapsed.

However, the WBC has yet to receive the signed bout agreements from the pair before the deadline of February 21st.

The clash of former sparring partner is scheduled for April 23, and could take place in front of a large crowd at Wembley Stadium.

Joshua is currently training for a high-stakes match with Uysk. He was defeated in their Tottenham tussle last October.

Hearn, Matchroom Boxing's chief executive, revealed last week that the rematch could be held in May. However Fury's copromoter Bob Arum claims the fight will take place the following month.

Top Rank's chief stated that there was no possibility of clashing fight dates.