Hall-of-fame fighter turned trainer, Roy Jones Jr, has provided a blueprint for the heavyweight division in which he was once champion.
Fans and journalists alike went into overdrive last week as an unlikely call out from Tyson Fury to Anthony Joshua quickly turned in to a potential fight.
Fury was previously tipped to face Oleksandr Usyk to crown the first undisputed in decades, but that was put on hold with the Ukrainian saying he would only be ready early next year.
Jones, speaking to FightHype.com, counts himself as one of the people who wants to see the Joshua fight in the interim.
“I think Joshua should fight Fury first, because that’s a fight that the UK [fans have] been wanting that everybody thought we had lost because of Joshua losing to Usyk. I think that fight still being on the horizon is one of the best things for Anthony Joshua and for boxing.”
As for Usyk, who held onto his unified titles in his recent rematch with ‘AJ’, Jones wants to see him face the winner of another upcoming heavyweight clash.
“Oleksandr Usyk – I would definitely see him fight the winner of the fight between the two Joes. Joe Parker and Joe [Joyce]. This is great fight too … Because both of those guys are pretty good punchers, and those are the types of guys who make great fights for somebody like Usyk.
Whereas Usyk against [Fury], both are boxers – that’s going to be a decent boxing match, a good chess match on paper, but it may not be so entertaining to the fans.”
Joe Joyce faces Joseph Parker on September 24 to determine the WBO Interim Champion and mandatory challenger.
Whether Usyk would take this advice remains to be seen, but it’s unlikely considering his post-fight comments that it was Tyson Fury next or nobody.
As of this week, talks between ‘The Gypsy King’ and Joshua have been put on hold out of respect for the Royal Family following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. With a December date speculated, it won’t be long until fans and Roy Jones Jr know if they’ll be getting the fight they want to see.