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Anthony Joshua in huge boost to fight for world title he has NEVER won… but why it all depends

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Anthony Joshua in huge boost to fight for world title he has NEVER won… but why it all depends on Daniel Dubois

ANTHONY JOSHUA could finally get the chance to fight for the WBC title – but it all depends on Daniel Dubois.

Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker face off at a press conference.
Daniel Dubois defends his IBF title against Joseph Parker

Joshua, 35, has twice held the unified WBA, IBF and WBO versions of the belts – but never the iconic green and gold WBC.

The strap is currently held by Oleksandr Usyk, 38, after he took it from Tyson Fury, 36, and then defended it in his pair of points wins last year.

But he had to vacate the IBF title to proceed with his December rematch with Fury – which he won via disputed decision.

Dubois, 27, was meanwhile elevated from interim champion to the full version – knocking out AJ in his first defense in September.

Oleksandr Usyk shaking hands with Daniel Dubois after a boxing match.
Oleksandr Usyk could fight the winner between Dubois vs Parker

He now puts it on the line against Joseph Parker, 33, on Saturday night in Riyadh – with Usyk in line to fight the winner.

That would make it for all four undisputed belts again – so Agit Kabayel and Zhilei Zhang contest for the interim version on the undercard.

Winning that trinket title automatically puts the winner in line to challenge for the full version or be elevated in the event of the champ being stripped.

And WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman is open to Joshua fighting for the WBC interim belt this year against either Zhang, 41, or Kabayel, 32.

Sulaiman told SunSport: “Very possibly Anthony Joshua could fight the winner and then the winner would be the interim champion.

“What we’re trying to do is to give the fans the best fights possible.

“We are administering within our rules that give us plenty of room to be ordering or managing the divisions for the benefit of the industry

“So that is a very doable thing if Anthony Joshua is to fight the winner of Kabayel-Zhang – absolutely it would be an WBC interim title fight.”

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Oleksandr Usyk Names The ‘Dangerous’ Fighter Who Hit Him Harder Than Joshua..

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Anthony Joshua & Tyson Fury & V Oleksandr Usyk

Oleksandr Usyk Names The ‘Dangerous’ Fighter Who Hit Him Harder Than Joshua, Fury And Dubois

Oleksandr Usyk has beaten five Brits in the last seven years, four in the heavyweight ranks including the nation’s best in Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois.

Usyk first visited these shores to defend his undisputed cruiserweight belts against Tony Bellew, stopping the challenger inside eight rounds before deciding up was time to move up to the heavyweight ranks.

After a warm-up against Chazz Witherspoon, Usyk was tested by Derek Chisora, weathering an early storm to win a unanimous decision and set up a shot at Anthony Joshua’s unified titles. The Ukrainian beat ‘AJ’ twice in a row, winning then retaining the belts.

He then made a defence against Daniel Dubois, which included a controversial low blow that saw the champion down and recovering for minutes before rising to stop the 27-year-old Brit in the ninth.

READ MORE:Anthony Joshua accused of making ‘big mistake’ after Daniel Dubois defeat by..

Most recently, Usyk did the double over Tyson Fury, taking everything ‘The Gypsy King’ could throw to win by split decision and become undisputed. He would win unanimously in their rematch.

In an interview with the 3 Knockdown Rule, he called the Morecambe man his hardest fight, but was clear that Chisora hit him harder than all others.

“Listen, I have respect for Tyson Fury. A fighter, a great man, but my opponent. Very hard man. Very smart … [Hardest fight] I think yes. Punch? I think no. Derek Chisora. Very tough guy. Derek – right hand, left hand, I’d like block… ‘Oh my God! Oh move Alex, this is dangerous.’”

Anthony Joshua / Daniel Dubois

Usyk has described the punch of the heavyweight veteran as ‘a baseball bat.’ Chisora has been competing professionally since 2007 but is currently enjoying somewhat of an Indian Summer as he makes his way towards 50 fights before finally hanging up the gloves

He lost twice to Joseph Parker after the Usyk defeat before beating Kubrat Pulev and challenging for Fury’s then WBC belt in a trilogy that he lost to make it 3-0 to ‘The Gypsy King.’

His most recent wins over Gerald Washington and particularly Joe Joyce, however, have seen fans enjoying this farewell tour slightly more. Next up is Otto Wallin on February 8 in Manchester – number 49.

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Eddie Hearn insists ‘only one man can beat’ Oleksandr Usyk after laying waste..

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Daniel Dubois vs Oleksandr Usyk

Eddie Hearn insists ‘only one man can beat’ Oleksandr Usyk after laying waste to Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois

Oleksandr Usyk has barely put a foot wrong during his unblemished 23-0 professional career – but Eddie Hearn believes one man could push him all the way.

The Ukrainian slickster is the current pound-for-pound king of boxing and is one of only three male fighters in the four-belt era to achieve undisputed supremacy in two separate weight classes (alongside Naoya Inoue and Terence Crawford).

Oleksandr Usyk has barely put a foot wrong during his unblemished 23-0 professional career – but Eddie Hearn believes one man could push him all the way.

READ MORE:Martin Bakole vs Efe Ajagba eliminator for Daniel Dubois’ IBF heavyweight..

The Ukrainian slickster is the current pound-for-pound king of boxing and is one of only three male fighters in the four-belt era to achieve undisputed supremacy in two separate weight classes (alongside Naoya Inoue and Terence Crawford).

But the masterful technician proved his doubters wrong by outclassing the Watford powerhouse in back-to-back bouts.Usyk then laid waste to the fast-rising Daniel Dubois before taking on WBC champion Tyson Fury in May 2024 for the undisputed crown.

Oleksandr Usyk & Eddie Hearn

‘The Cat’ edged their epic inaugural encounter via split decision and subsequently widened the margin in their rematch seven months later.

In between the two fights, Usyk was forced to relinquish the IBF title to Dubois in order to pursue his rematch with Fury.

However, Hearn believes lineal cruiserweight king Jai Opetaia has the best chance of beating him.

“I’m looking down the road, Jai is humble,” Hearn told ESNEWS after Opetaia’s recent blowout of David Nyika.

He’s committed to the cruiserweight division but for me one of the best of all time was Usyk, he became undisputed, moved up and became undisputed at heavyweight.

“The medium focus right now is every belt in the division and the long-term focus is to fight Usyk for the unified heavyweight world championship.

“I believe he is the only fighter who can give Usyk a real fight over the next 12-18 months.”

Opetaia is the consensus best fighter at 200lbs and is currently in possession of the IBF and Ring Magazine titles.He won the belts by dethroning former cruiserweight leader Mairis Briedis in 2022 and has been chasing unification fights to no avail ever since.

The expectation is that he will eventually move up to heavyweight once he has conquered his weight class.

But Usyk, now 38, will likely be retired by the time he steps up.

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Anthony Joshua Delivers 4 Word Message To Usyk After Coming..

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Anthony Joshua/Oleksandr Usyk

Anthony Joshua Delivers 4 Word Message To Usyk After Coming Face To Face For First Time Since Fury Win

Oleksandr Usyk sits right at the top of many pound-for-pound lists.

The former undisputed cruiserweight champion stepped up to heavyweight just five years ago and has beaten all comers on his way to gaining every belt in boxing’s blue-riband division.

After victories over Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora the Ukrainian dethroned Anthony Joshua, taking his WBA, IBF and WBO titles when he outpointed the Brit over 12 rounds in London back in 2021. The following year Usyk repeated the feat and retained his belts in a rematch in Saudi Arabia

READ MORE:http://Anthony Joshua Delivers 4 Word Message To Usyk After Coming Face To Face For First Time Since Fury Win

Daniel Dubois was then called as a mandatory and, after being put on the canvas for the first time in his career from a controversial low blow, Usyk stopped his man in the ninth round to setup an undisputed clash against WBC champion Tyson Fury.

The 37-year-old defeated ‘The Gypsy King’ twice within the space of seven months to cement his standing as the best heavyweight of his generation and become the divisions first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis nearly 25 years ago.

Anthony Joshua

At The Ring Magazine awards, Joshua came face-to-face to Usyk for the first time since his second victory over Fury and had a simple message for the champion after cleaning out the division – “I’m proud of you”.

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Tyson Fury Needed Just 2 Words When Asked If Oleksandr Usyk Is The Best..

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 Oleksandr Usyk  /Tyson Fury

Tyson Fury Needed Just 2 Words When Asked If Oleksandr Usyk Is The Best He Has Ever Faced

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk engaged in two of the best fights of 2024.

The first one in May came after much build-up. It saw two unbeaten heavyweight greats go up against one another to contest the first undisputed champion status since Lennox Lewis claim that title back in 1999.

After 12 closely fought rounds, it was Usyk who had his hand raised. He was the one who landed the biggest shot in the 9th round and sent Fury reeling around the ropes to take a 10 count and then a split decision.

Back in December, the pair went at it again over another 12 rounds. Once again the Ukrainian pushed the fight with front foot pressure, landed more, cleaner shots and again got a points win, this time unanimously on all three of the judges score cards of 116-112.

READ MORE:Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk contract deals blow to …

The win meant he pretty much completed boxing as a former gold medalist turned undisputed cruiserweight in 2018 and now a still unbeaten heavyweight who has also beaten current IBF world champion Daniel Dubois by knockout.

Tyson Fury

In the post-fight press conference, Fury was asked if Usyk is the best boxer he has ever faced but didn’t agree.

“In that fight there he never hurt me once. I’ve got a couple of flesh wounds, they’ll be gone in two or three days. No mark on me.”

Despite that view, Usyk remains the only man to have beaten Fury in the ring. Options for ‘The Gypsy King’ should he decide to fight on now include a huge British showdown with Anthony Joshua which could well turn out to be a legacy fight.

Usyk meanwhile could well look to rematch Dubois to once again become undisputed champion, or go back down to cruiserweight for some of his old titles.

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Usyk Summed Up Deontay Wilder’s Chances Of Ever Beating Anthony Joshua In Just..

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Anthony Joshua vs UsykOleksandr Usyk

Usyk Summed Up Deontay Wilder’s Chances Of Ever Beating Anthony Joshua In Just 1 Word

Anthony Joshua versus Deontay Wilder is in danger of being the match-up that got away in this heavyweight era.

The two big punchers could have, at one stage, faced off for the undisputed crown, but failed talks and different paths put paid to that and both men would lost their belts.

Joshua was first upset by Andy Ruiz Jr and, though he won the unified titles back in the rematch, Wilder was then embroiled in a trilogy with Tyson Fury that he would come out relieved of his WBC belt.

‘AJ’ then lost again to Oleksandr Usyk and couldn’t reverse the result in a return fight. The lack of belts seemed to then make talks easier with his American rival, as well as the introduction of Riyadh Season and its deep pockets, and the pair were put on a collision course, fighting on the same card against different opponents with wins setting up the clash.

READ MORE:Oleksandr Usyk Makes Final Anthony Joshua-Daniel Dubois Prediction After Beating Both

Joshua did his part, beating Otto Wallin by fifth round stoppage, but Wilder was upset over the distance by Joseph Parker. The Brit would instead face and knockout Francis Ngannou. Wilder again tried to build back by facing giant Chinese southpaw Zhilei Zhang. He was stopped inside five leaving not just the ‘AJ’ fight on the ropes, but his career entire.

Usyk, having shared the ring with the Brit for 24 rounds, made a prediction back in 2023 for if the pair of knockout artists were to face off at their best. He gave his former foe a chance, but leaned ‘60%’ to Wilder.

Anthony Joshua

“It would’ve been a phenomenal match. Wilder’s unique if he clips, one is unable to fight back. I’m going with Wilder on 60% for the contest. He’s a puncher and Joshua could be set on. Deontay’s able to send someone flying when he touches them. They usually have the flight.”

Joshua was recently stopped by now IBF Champion Daniel Dubois, once again opening the door to the fight after Wilder announced he will not retire. However, ‘AJ’ is much more likely to pursue another long-awaited clash with Fury instead.

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Chris Eubank Jr Is Absolutely Certain How Usyk vs Dubois Rematch Goes: “If He ..

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Daniel Dubois vs Oleksandr Usyk

Chris Eubank Jr Is Absolutely Certain How Usyk vs Dubois Rematch Goes: “If He Fights Like That”

Daniel Dubois is keen to run it back with Oleksandr Usyk.

The pair first met in August of 2023 in Poland, with Usyk defending his unified heavyweight world titles.

Though he outboxed Dubois for large periods of the fight, scoring a knockdown in the eighth and stoppage in the ninth, the Brit’s side have held on to the low blow that put the Ukrainian down in the fifth as a claim to winning the fight, believing the shot to have been legal.

Since then, Usyk became undisputed with a win over Tyson Fury and, to honour the rematch, vacated the IBF belt, which was awarded to Dubois. The young Brit defended his new title with a fifth round knockout over Anthony Joshua.

READ MORE:Heavyweight ‘Obliterated’ Daniel Dubois In Sparring Before ‘Breaking His Nose And..

It was after that performance that Chris Eubank Jr told Mail Sport Boxing that the younger man could beat Usyk now.

“With that type of performance, I think he could [beat Usyk]. I didn’t see that Dubois against Usyk. If that Dubois fought Usyk then there would’ve been a different outcome.”

Daniel Dubois

After Usyk’s second win over Fury, Dubois promptly entered the ring to call for a rematch after being ‘robbed’ in Poland. He was criticised not only for taking the spotlight but also overlooking Joseph Parker, who he faces on February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Should ‘DDD’ come through former champ Parker as he clearly expects to, Usyk did verbally agree to run it back – a chance to become twice undisputed in the division. Many, though, feel he should retire on top.

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Tony Bellew Has No Doubt Who Wins Prime George Foreman vs Oleksandr Usyk: “I ..

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George Foreman vs Oleksandr Usyk

Tony Bellew Has No Doubt Who Wins Prime George Foreman vs Oleksandr Usyk: “I Have To Go With Him”

George Foreman and care two of the best heavyweights that boxing has seen.

Foreman’s legendary career saw him first become undisputed world heavyweight champion at the age of 24 when he knocked out Joe Frazier inside two rounds in 1973.

Foreman lost his titles 18 months later when he was stopped by Muhammad Ali in the iconic Rumble in the Jungle event, before he then initially retired in 1977.

He returned a decade later, but initially failed in his bids to become world champion again, suffering defeats to Evander Holyfield and Tommy Morrison respectively.

READ MORE:Tony Bellew Makes New Fury-Usyk Rematch Prediction: “I’ve Never Seen Him Hurt Before”…

‘Big George’ eventually did manage to capture world honours again though, stopping Michael Moorer in the 10th round to win the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles in November 1994.

Foreman holds the record as the oldest world heavyweight champion in history at the age of 46 years and 169 days old, and retired in 1997 with a record of 76 wins and just 5 defeats, with an incredible 68 of those wins coming by knockout.

Usyk’s achievements are just as impressive, having initially reigned at cruiserweight, becoming undisputed champion in 2018 after defeating the likes of Mairis Briedis, Murat Gassiev and Tony Bellew.

The Ukrainian then moved up to heavyweight, beginning his time in the banner division with wins against Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora, before he challenged Anthony Joshua for his world heavyweight titles.

Usyk beat Joshua to become WBA, IBF and WBO champion, before retaining them in a rematch a year later. He defended his belts once more against Daniel Dubois in August 2023, then took on Tyson Fury in an undisputed showdown in May 2024.

It was Usyk that claimed the win to add the WBC belt to his collection, before he then won the rematch against Fury this past December to again solidify his status as the current number one heavyweight in the world.

With all of that taken into consideration, former cruiserweight world champion Bellew has told Mail Sport Boxing who he thinks would win between Foreman and Usyk, and despite sharing the ring himself with the Ukrainian, he went with the legendary American.

“I’m going to have to go Big George.”

Usyk’s next move should be revealed in the coming months, but it may have already been revealed who he is expected to face.

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Usyk Didn’t Hesitate When Asked If Anthony Joshua Can Ever Beat..

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Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois

Usyk Didn’t Hesitate When Asked If Anthony Joshua Can Ever Beat Dubois: “There’s One Problem”

Oleksandr Usyk has shared the ring with both Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, and watched from ringside as the latter knocked out the former at Wembley Stadium.

Dubois, though he lost to Usyk in a bid for the unified heavyweight titles, later picked up a belt when the Ukrainian vacated. His first defence was against two-time champion Anthony Joshua, who was the man Usyk won the titles from in the first place.

Dubois steamrolled Joshua in the first round, knocking him down and thus dictating how the fight would go thereafter. He dropped the favourite twice more on his way to a fifth round stoppage and career-best performance.

READ MORE:Anthony Joshua’s trainer responds to critics of ‘roll the dice’ advice during defeat to…

Though the 27-year-old looked like he wouldn’t be denied a

gainst anybody that night, some feel that Joshua looked off from the ring walk. That may include Usyk, who, in a recent interview with Mail Sport Boxing, backed the best ‘AJ’ to beat the best Dubois.

Speaking to Boxing King Media post-fight, Usyk had already pinpointed exactly why ‘AJ’ was making himself vulnerable to Dubois’ power punches.

Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois

“I’m not shocked because this is boxing. Daniel Dubois today was better. Anthony had one problem. Because this position [leans back with feet planted], it’s dangerous. If you want to, you step back like this [takes one foot back], not like this [repeats lean] because this is dangerous. We saw.”

Dubois is just as likely now to rematch Usyk as he is Joshua, having stepped into the ring to call out the Ukrainian after his most recent victory over Tyson Fury.

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Oleksandr Usyk makes startling admission about ‘Rolex’ watch after getting $86m..

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Tyson Fury

Oleksandr Usyk makes startling admission about ‘Rolex’ watch after getting $86m purse for Tyson Fury rematch

Oleksandr Usyk openly admitted to wearing a bootleg Rolex just days after successfully beating Tyson Fury in their second meeting.

While plenty of athletes like to show off their expensive clothing and jewelry, the fan-favorite heavyweight champion shamelessly boasted his fake timepiece in a street interview with United44.

After flashing the watch to the camera, Usyk quickly admitted to the inauthenticity of his accessory.

READ MORE:Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk contract deals blow to …

‘I was boasting a little and showed the cameraman my watch,’ he said, laughing. ‘It’s a Chinese Rolex.

‘I was in Turkey for training and saw guys selling Rolexes on the beach,’ Usyk continued. ‘I thought if I bought one, no one would guess that it was a fake. So I bought it for $100.’

As he pointed out, nobody questioned if the watch was fake considering the substantial amount the Ukrainian fighter has earned throughout his career.

Tyson Fury

After beating Tyson Fury for the second time over the weekend, Usyk reportedly took home $86million, per Ukrainian outlet Pravda.

Meanwhile, the Gypsy King bagged an estimated $70m.

The pair of heavyweight titans are also in line to increase their earnings through the pay-per-view revenue from broadcasts on DAZN PPV, Sky Sports Box Office, and TNT Sports Box Office.

Usyk’s startling admission may also be a slight hit at Fury, who is known to be fond of jaw-dropping custom timepieces from brands like Jacob & Co. and Rolex.

His unanimous decision victory over Fury moved Usyk to 23-0 as he retained his undisputed heavyweight titles.

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