Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have finally signed a deal to face each other in November after 10 years in the making
Oleksandr Usyk has already made it clear he is backing Anthony Joshua to get the better of Tyson Fury as the two rivals finally agree to meet in November.
The pair have reportedly agreed terms to clash in the ring, a full decade after their rivalry first emerged. Boxing chief Turki Alalsheikh confirmed the bout on social media, with Joshua subsequently revealing he has put pen to paper on a multi-fight deal.
Alalsheikh said: “To my friends in Great Britain – it’s happening. It’s signed.”
Joshua is set to face Kristian Prenga in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on July 25. The 36-year-old has been working alongside Usyk, who has defeated both AJ and Fury twice, ahead of his return following a serious car accident in Nigeria.
The Ukrainian heavyweight has already shared his verdict on the contest and is firmly convinced Joshua has the ability to beat the Gypsy King. Speaking this month, Usyk said: “I believe. I looked at how Anthony is training, he’s a machine. But now I think Anthony needs help.
“We, people who support, we must say, ‘Yeah, we do believe,’ because a lot of people, you know… I’m a fan of the soccer team Dynamo [Kyiv], I’m a fan a lot of the time. Sometimes my team lose, but I don’t say: ‘You’re bad, you’re bad.’ I say: ‘Things happen, you must work.’ I pray. I say ‘it’s normal’, because it’s a sport.’
“But sometimes people are negative. They’re not family, they’re bulls***. Listen, we must help each other. If we don’t help each other, we are not people, we are animals.”
When asked if he thinks Joshua would knock out Fury, Usyk added: “I have no idea. I know he wins, but I don’t know.”
Usyk also weighed in on Fury’s unanimous decision win over Arslanbek Makhmudov earlier in April. He said: “Listen, it’s not a good performance for me, but Tyson wins, [so] it’s good.”
“It’s normal. Listen, I support Tyson Fury, you know? I get a lot of messages from my acquaintances and my friends: ‘Oh, your friend won.’ It’s good.”
“[But] I’m nervous, because I watched only six rounds – the first six rounds, but then I went to church. I said: ‘Oh, be careful, hands up.’”
Fury and AJ have signed on a multi-fight deal in the past, only for it to fall through, but British boxing fans might finally be getting the match-up they’ve longed for. The agreement came off the back of Fury calling out AJ, who was sat ringside for the Manchester fighter’s comeback win over Makhmudov just over two weeks ago.
Joshua will first have to come through unscathed against unknown Albanian fighter Prenga, a heavyweight with 20 wins – all coming by way of knockout – and one defeat before the Battle of Britain.
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