By Gabriel Princewill-
Anthony Joshua says he does not want to have to give up any of his belts en route to the undisputed world title, but is unsure whether he should do so.
The undisputed world heavyweight champion, who has lost just one in 24 fights (21 knockouts) expressed uncertainty today in relation to whether he will need to give up one of the belts in order to accelerate a lucrative clash with Wbc title holder, Tyson Fury.
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Joshua’s high aspirations to go down in history as a true champion is well documented. His ambition to dominate the heavyweight division is an undeniably driving force of his. Fury will represent his biggest assignment, as will Joshua to Fury.
The Londoner was in part inquiry mood when he asked whether his image will be affected if he drops one of the belts.
Like Fury, Joshua wants to please fans , and do right by them, and appears to be contending with himself the idea of dropping the Wbo belt, to chase the unification battle with the gypsy king,
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Speaking to The Sun, Joshua said: “Will people care if I have to lose a belt to Usyk? Will I have to give one up? I am not too sure yet.
“I don’t want to, because it is ‘the road to undisputed championship
“But I know that, when I win, I will go back and fight for that belt anyway — that will be my goal.
“I want to fight Fury, beat him again in the rematch — two difficult hurdles, serious fights — then I will go straight back to try to fight for that title again.”
Dilemma
Joshua finds himself in a dilemma in which he wishes to both keep the belt, but also drop it for Usyk, and come back for it once, really, if he beats Tyson Fury. Boxing fans are split as to who will come out on top when the pair eventually meet. Tyson Fury will be the betting favourite but Joshua will also be fancied by many to be victorious.
The marketable undisputed champion is cornered between his own words of wanting to face all mandatories on his way to world championship glory, and the tantalising opportunity to unify the heavyweight titles and earn serious money. The glory is the more important objective, but the immensity of the occasion and its accompanying rewards are too much for him or his team to resist.
The business side of boxing is bigger than the sporting aspect itself, which strictly speaking would see Joshua risk his title against Usyk and then face in the confident belief of victory, before facing Fury. That route has the risk of Joshua being shocked by Usyk, eliminating the big fight with Fury in the process.
Nobody would want it to disappear in the same way the highly anticipated clash with Wilder disappeared after Andy Ruiz Jnr beat him in Newyork’s Madison square garden in 2019. But much still rides on how confident Joshua of beating Usyk, or whether business interests must be the predominant consideration in the whole assessment.
Step Aside Money
Step aside money has long been the tradition of brushing aside the thorny obstacle of a mandatory intermediate fight , when a big lucrative fight is looming. It must be said that the likes of Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis never dropped one of their belts in pursuit of a big fight. That said, Fury and his team will have no reason to be interested in a mandatory fight coming before their big occasion.
How times have changed , and now the allure of incredible riches from one mega fights has been traded for the real ethical issue of a champion fulfilling their obligation of proving themselves every inch of the way. That’s because money and business talking evaporates obligations in the twinkling of an eye.
In an ideal world, Joshua would fit both Usyk and Fury in a timetable that would have both fights done by July or August 2021, emphatically defeating the game and talented Usyk, then facing Fury off the momentum of a good victory.
WBO Mandatory challebger: Alexander Usyk Image: Media.Dazn.com
In the real world, demand for the fight is high, and Promoter Eddie Hearns and Fury’s camp are sniffing the smell of money so strongly, it might just knock out the obstacle of Usyk and deliver the fight the world is eager to see.
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