Oleksandr Usyk played major role in deciding Anthony Joshua’s next fight

Eddie Hearn has revealed key discussions with Oleksandr Usyk ahead of Anthony Joshua‘s return to the ring.

Joshua was last seen exchanging verbal blows with Tyson Fury earlier this month, shortly after ‘The Gypsy King’ ended his 16-month layoff with a points victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Instead of granting his rival’s request for a face-off, though, Joshua decided to remain seated and criticise the 37-year-old’s lacklustre performance.

Since then, it has been revealed that ‘AJ’ and his promoter, Matchroom boss Hearn, have been offered a two-fight deal by Turki Alalshikh, culminating in a long-awaited clash with Fury later this year.

The all-British showdown has been slated for November, though Joshua is expected to return to action in July as part of this two-fight agreement.

While having not fought since his sixth-round finish over Jake Paul in December, the 36-year-old has also been recovering – both physically and mentally – from the tragic car crash in which he was involved that same month.

The incident in Nigeria took the lives of his two close friends, while ‘AJ’ was believed to have sustained several injuries.

But he has, of course, returned to training camp with unified heavyweight champion Usyk, who has played a key role in not only Joshua’s rehabilitation but also the discussions for his next fight.

Speaking with IFL TV, promoter Hearn gave an insight into the Ukrainian’s insistence on a comeback fight, before the Londoner finally collides with Fury.

“A lot of this has come through Oleksandr Usyk; he was part of these conversations.

“And the conversations were: Absolutely he’s [Joshua’s] having a comeback fight. He could’ve probably made more money to go straight into the [Fury] fight.

“But [Team Joshua’s] like: ‘No way. We need to be 100% when we fight Tyson Fury’.”

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It would seem that the full extent of Joshua’s recovery process has not been documented, hence why his team is particularly keen for him to face a less established name than Fury.