Anthony Joshua is backing rival heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to defeat Deontay Wilder in their trilogy fight in Las Vegas on July 24.
WBA Super, WBO and IBF title holder Joshua was, of course, set to meet WBC and Lineal king Fury for all the belts and an eye-rubbing amount of money in Saudi Arabia in August.
But when an arbitration ruling favoured Wilder and enforced a contracted third fight with Fury, those lucrative plans went awry and the ‘Gypsy King’ had to face a man he trounced so convincingly in seven rounds in February 2020.
Now Joshua must take care of a dangerous mandatory against WBO No.1 contender Oleksandr Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September and hope to unify later in the year. ‘AJ’ will prepare for Usyk at his usual base at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, alongside the Team GB fighters preparing for Tokyo Olympics.
“I’ve got to defend my titles,” Joshua told Talksport. “I’m gonna be training alongside Ben [Whittaker] and the GB Team, preparing for my championship fight while these guys prepare for the Olympics. I’m gonna win because I have to, I’ve got no other option.
“And then I’m gonna get on to the next fight which is the undisputed. So we’re back on the road to undisputed and I’m supporting the Olympic boys. When they finish with a bang, hopefully the next fight I have will be an undisputed fight. So there will be so many eyes on the boxing scene in 2021 and 2022.
“I don’t mind, I don’t mind [who wins Fury vs Wilder III]. But Fury won the last one so I’ll go with Fury because you’re only as good as your last performance. Good luck to them both.”