Oleksandr Usyk may have an interesting, if tad redundant, contingency plan in place if a fight with Tyson Fury fails to get off the ground.
Usyk, the WBO, WBA, IBO and IBF heavyweight champion, said in a recent interview that he would be receptive to the idea of facing Anthony Joshua in a third fight, in the event that he cannot land an undisputed showdown with WBC titlist Tyson Fury. Usyk, moreover, suggested that a potential Joshua trilogy could take place in Usyk’s homeland of Ukraine, specifically at the gargantuan Olympic National Sports Complex in Kiev.
“If Fury doesn’t agree I think we could try to have another fight,” Usyk said of fighting Joshua in an interview with Parimatch, gambling website. “We already had a match in London and in Saudi Arabia as well, so the next one could be at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv.”
Another Usyk-Joshua fight, however, may strike the boxing public as redundant, given the fact that Uysk won their two fights somewhat handily. In the first fight, Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) defeated Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) on points (unanimous) at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London last September. Last month, the southpaw Usyk defeated Joshua again, also on points (albeit via split scorecards), in their 12-round affair in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. While many observers believe Joshua did much better in the rematch, the consensus appears to be that Usyk simply has the former champion’s number.
