Pound for Pound king Oleksandr Usyk had time to reflect on Anthony Joshua throwing his title belts. The Ukrainian has now reacted further.
In a twist of events, Usyk says Joshua acted like a petulant child when grabbing his titles and throwing them over the ropes.
The incident happened moments after Usyk handed a second successive loss to Joshua in Saudi Arabia.
In the process, Usyk solidified the IBF, WBA, and WBO belts he ripped for AJ the previous September at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
The pair of heavyweights embraced at the end of the shenanigans. However, Usyk didn’t seem so forgiving in a subsequent interview.
Anthony Joshua is a poor fool
He told Parimatch: “I thought, ‘What a poor fool!’
“He reminded me of a little boy who wanted to play with a ball. But it was taken from him. So he decided to throw it over the neighbor’s fence.”
The unified champion is taking a short break before arranging his next fight. After initially stating he’d like to fight Tyson Fury next year, Usyk’s team backtracked after the “Gypsy King” opened talks with Joshua over a British showdown.
Manager Egis Klimas told Ring Magazine: “Usyk is the heavyweight world champion, and look how many statements Fury has made these last few months.
“He’s retiring and not retiring. He’s fighting Usyk and not fighting Usyk. Now he’s fighting Joshua.
“You really don’t know what Fury will do next if you look at everything that happened in his past.
Unpredictable Tyson Fury
“Fury always caused a problem when it came to getting an undisputed world champion. He’s unpredictable.
“Usyk wanted to fight Fury by the end of the year. You know what, we’re not running after him.
“We have three belts. He has one belt. Who cares? It’s a situation Fury created. Not Usyk.
“Usyk would fight Tyson Fury in his backyard. Usyk would fight anyone in their backyard.”
Responding to reported ongoing negotiations between Fury and Joshua, Usyk added: “Well, if they sign the contract, they will punch each other for a while.
“But everyone is expecting Usyk vs Fury. I will support neither of them. I won’t even watch this fight, and I don’t want to.
The talented boxer quipped: “Okay, I’m just joking.”
Fury vs Joshua
At present, Fury vs Joshua remains under a cloud until niggles in the discussions between the Brits get ironed out. The worrying thing for UK fans is that both fighters seem to have alternatives in the wings.
Sky Sports are already being frozen out in favor of BT Sport and DAZN, leading to further talks on maximizing profits.
Fury seems ready to throw down with Mahmoud Charr in a WBC heavyweight title defense. At the same time, former world champion and fellow Brit Joshua is linked to facing Zhilei Zhang in Beijing, China.
After beating American heavyweight Deontay Wilder in their third fight last October and ex-sparring partner Dillian Whyte in an April Battle of Britain, Fury’s team never really pinpointed one target. This scenario leaves all options on the table until something gets officially signed by his promoters, Frank Warren and Bob Arum, for a return.
December 3 is booked in at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium by Fury’s promoters. Meanwhile, Joshua’s management company, Matchroom Boxing and DAZN are still contemplating potential dates.
A rematch with Whyte remains a further option for Joshua, who could embark on a world tour of three bouts outside his home country.
If successful, it’s WBN’s understanding that Anthony Joshua could make a homecoming return to Wembley in 2024 for another possible attempt to become a three-time world champion.
WBN Editor Phil Jay has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews, Instagram, and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
