ANTHONY JOSHUA confirmed that he will fight Tyson Fury or Deontay Wester next, provided he defeats Oleksandr Uzyk tonight in the heavyweight clash.
Joshua, 31, stated that if Usyk beats him tonight, his next opponent will be the Fury vs Wilder tri-fight in Las Vegas on Oct 9.
Anthony Joshua was a stone heavier than Oleksandr Uzyk (17st 2lbs]
He stated that if Fury wins, he'll fight any one of them. If Fury wins I'll fight Fury. If Wilder wins, however, I'll fight Wilder.
"If Fury wins, he won't fight me because he stated on his hitlist that he wanted to fight Dillian [Whyte] or [Dereck] Chisora first -- then I'll fight Wilder."
Joshua, also known as AJ, will need to defeat Usyk tonight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before he can get his wish.
Derek Chisora, 34, was defeated unanimously by Usyk in October 2020, making him the mandatory challenger to Joshua's WBO heavyweight title.
Joshua was originally scheduled to fight Tyson Fury in January, but the fight was canceled when The Gypsy King was compelled to complete his trilogy against Wilder through an arbitration ruling.
This allowed Usyk to face Joshua for the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles.
BETTING SPECIAL - GET JOSHUA TO WIN IN ROUNDS 1-6 AT 60/1 OR ANYTIME AT 25/1AJ won his WBA (Superior) and IBO titles by defeating Vladimir Klitschko, Usyk's compatriot at Wembley Stadium in 2017.
Watford-born Usyk has suffered only one defeat in his career, against Andy Ruiz Jr. back in 2019. This will give Usyk hope that another heavyweight champion can be defeated.
Six months later, AJ beat the Mexican in a rematch via unanimous decision. He has vowed that he will put the loss behind him and that it will not define his career.
AJ said he supports Wilder to win the Trilogy fight between Fury & Wilder.
He said, "Look, you've asked the question. Let's go with Wilder, he seems obsessed like it's his real desire."
"He seems very focused on the task ahead. So, you know that a focused man can be dangerous. He's focused.
"Wilder might be the one to make the decision. No. It must be knockout. The other will be knocked out by one of them."
Fans want to see Fury and Joshua face off in a fight called "The Battle of Britain", which would see the winner unify heavyweight division.
Fury, 33 years old, said he would cheer on Joshua tonight, in the hope that a win for the Brits will lead to a PS200m heavyweight matchdown.
Joshua and Usyk: All information about the TV, stream, and undercard ahead of Saturday's heavyweight fight
He replied, "Do you want him to win?" Yes. It doesn't make sense for me to beat Usyk up.
Joshua would be my favorite fighter. It's a larger fight that people want to see and it's more exciting.
"If Usyk wins, it will cost us a few quid.
"But then again, we have lost a lot of money in the past so it doesn’t really matter. There is plenty of money to be had.
