Joshua willing to vacate WBO title to get Fury fight

By Boxing News - 12/22/2020 - Comments

By Matt Lieberman: Anthony Joshua revealed earlier today that he’ll vacate his WBO heavyweight title so that he can go straight into the fight Tyson Fury in 2021 without being sidetracked against his mandatory Oleksandr Usyk.

IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) says if he vacates the WBO title, he’ll swing back and fight for it after he beats Fury twice in 2021.

Joshua doesn’t see it as any problem for him to get a crack at the WBO against whoever ends up with the belt. If Joshua vacates, Usyk will fight Joe Joyce for the vacant WBO title.

Joshua’s WBO mandatory is overdue against Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs), and the World Boxing Organization wants him to face him next. Usyk has been waiting for his title shot for two years.

If it were a shorter period of time that Usyk had been waiting, the WBO likely would give Joshua the green light to go around him. What makes it problematic is Joshua and Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) plan o fighting twice in 2021, not just once.

Joshua ready to give up WBO title

“I’m ready for 2021, Tyson, if that’s the man that is keen to fight me and is serious, I’m ready 100 percent,” said Joshua to IFL TV.

“Do they care if I lose the belt to Usyk? Do I have to give one up? I’m not sure right now.

Image: Joshua willing to vacate WBO title to get Fury fight

“I don’t want to because that’s the road to the undisputed, but if that’s the case, and the people want to see the fight and don’t care, then so be it. I’ll give it up.

“Yeah, it is,” said Joshua when asked if the fight with Fury is bigger than being undisputed. “I know when I win, I’ll go back and fight for the belt anyway.

“That’ll be my goal. If they don’t throw a mandatory on me. If I can fight Tyson Fury, rematch him, because there’s going to be a rematch in there, and I’ll beat him again.

“I’ll get over these two difficult hurdles because they’re serious fights; I’ll go straight back to fight for that title fight 100%,” said Joshua.

The money and the attention he’ll receive from fighting Fury twice next year makes it worthwhile for him to sacrifice the WBO.

Moreover, it’ll be a snap for Joshua to fight the eventual winner of the WBO belt between Joyce and Usyk. Those guys will jump at the chance to face Joshua for the undisputed heavyweight championship in 2022.

AJ to let the public decide about WBO title

“Whatever the public wants, given up the belt or fight Usyk, I don’t care,” said Joshua when asked what he’ll do if the World Boxing Organization says he has to face Usyk to keep his belt.

“If I go left, I have to fight Usyk; it’s a good fight. If I go right, I have Fury, and it’s a good fight.

Image: Joshua willing to vacate WBO title to get Fury fight

“There’s no easy touches in my career. Either one of them, I have no fear for. I have respect, but I don’t have no fear for. I want to put on good shows, good fights. If it’s Usyk, so be it. If it’s Fury, so be it. Either way, it’s a tough 2021 for me.

“I’m not even interested in this stuff anymore with here it’s going to be and the percentage split,” said Joshua about the location for his two fights with Fury.

“Just split it down the middle. It’s as simple as. I’m not interested in going back and forth. It’s going to be Tyson Fury, whether the WBO or not,” Joshua added.

There’s no point in Joshua asking the boxing public whether he should vacate the WBO title to face Fury or keep it and defend against Usyk.

The fans want to see Joshua and Fury fight, and they don’t care about the WBO being vacated by AJ. As Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao have shown, titles are no longer needed once a fighter becomes super popular.

When you get to the level where Joshua is now, titles are a burden, and they work against his popularity, slowing him down. If Joshua were to vacate all his titles now and face Fury, the boxing world wouldn’t care.

Nothing will prevent Joshua vs. Fury fight

“Let’s get the fight done. Nothing,” Joshua said when asked what other stumbling blocks are out there that can prevent the Fury fight from happening.

“The pandemic and where it’s going to be, that’s it. But nothing, no,” Joshua added about what could keep the Fury fight from going down. It’s only a fight, it’s no big deal.

Image: Joshua willing to vacate WBO title to get Fury fight

“I was in the ring with Fury right here. Talk about a performance. Fury knows about those uppercuts. He said it during a BBC interview years ago. I respect him for his honesty.

“Sparring is sparring. You don’t get nothing, but it’s nice to share the ring with somebody to compete with. It’s funny that he mentioned the uppercut years back.

“You can see that it’s a punch in my career that has brought many success my way.

“I just look forward to competing with him, I don’t care where it is, splits, no hold-ups. Let’s just get it rolling,” Joshua said.

“When I’m in there, I’m really relaxed, kind of like Canelo,” said Joshua in talking about how he sees his fight with Fury going. “It’s like he’s never out of first gear.

“He’s very relaxed as he walks forward. Yeah, that approach. You’ll just see a style that is there to win. I don’t go into a fight thinking, ‘This is how I’m going to box.’

“And I just know what it takes to win. I feel like in my heart of hearts, I’ll do whatever it takes to win. That’s my main priority to just go in and do whatever it takes to win a fight,” said Joshua.

The only thing besides the pandemic that can prevent Joshua vs. Fury is if the two fail to negotiate the fight. That’s always possible, but not likely.

Joshua sees himself knocking out Fury

“It’s not so much about a style and strategy. The best strategy to have in a fighter’s heart is to find a way to win. It’s not so much, ‘This is how I’m going to box. I’m just there to win.

“Yeah, I do,” Joshua said when asked if he envisions himself knocking out Fury.

Image: Joshua willing to vacate WBO title to get Fury fight

“I’m in 2021, I want to get my hands on the belt if I can this year. Last year, I chased the Wilder fight. Before the Ruiz fight, it was ‘What about Wilder? What about Fury?’

“I done so much chasing. People said I was ducking and I didn’t want to fight the best. Then he came out on social media and said, ‘Joshua gave me a lucrative offer. He was the one that turned it down,” said Joshua about Deontay Wilder.

“I realized at that point, I’m not chasing these guys anymore. Unless it’s serious, I’m not going around to prove myself. After that fight [with Pulev], I didn’t even want to do an interview.

“I just wanted to walk out and go about my business. Tyson. I’m tired of speaking, I’m tired of talking, talking, talking. I said, ‘If it’s Tyson Fury with the WBC belt, then let it be Tyson Fury that I fight.’

“I’m keen to fight Tyson Fury, it’s a challenge for myself. I respect the man for what he’s achieved. He’s a phenomenal athlete. I want to challenge myself and fight the best in the division.

If he is the best in the division, let’s get it cracking. I’m keen. I’ve fought six or seven champions in my career. He’ll be another champion that I’ll add to my roster as well,” Joshua said about the Fury fight.

Joshua probably won’t knockout Fury unless he’s able to throw a lot of shots, and fight in a more sustained manner than what we saw in his win over Kubrat Pulev.

AJ wants less talk and more action

“More talk and less action, the complete opposite of what I’m trying to do,” said Joshua when asked to react to a recent video of Fury criticizing him.

“I’m less talk, more action. Honestly, I’ve set my team and management with the talk of getting it done by Christmas.

Image: Joshua willing to vacate WBO title to get Fury fight

“Whatever he [Fury] wants to do. He’s a fighting man, he’s not scared to fight. Let’s not use this to try and build a profile on each other’s back.

“Let’s just get the fight done. The fight is big enough as it is. There’s no need to belittle him or anything like that.

“We can use it to bring the country together with everything that’s happened this year. This isn’t about PR, this isn’t about a popularity contest, this ain’t about who’s scared and who’s not scared.

“When that first bell goes, there’s no fear in none f us. We’re just there to fight. When he went online and spoke, that’s not what I’m standing for.

“I’m not here to talk and do less action. Less talk and more action right now. Let’s get the fight done. It’s the fight that people want to see,” said Joshua.

Fury will do a lot of talking once they get the fight signed, as he’s going to want to market it to the hilt to pump up the pay-per-view buys.