Boxing guru Gareth A. Davies believes heavyweight champions Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will have an immediate rematch if it’s a close fight on May 18th.
If Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) stops IBF/WBA/WBO champion Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs), Gareth expects a lucrative step-aside deal to occur with Oleksandr getting paid a generous figure to clear the path for Anthony Joshua to face Tyson in the first of two mega-fights, with the first likely to take place in Saudi Arabia.
Unfortunately, Joshua wouldn’t be fighting Fury for the undisputed championship because the IBF belt would be stripped due to IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic being next in line to fight for that title.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has repeatedly said that he sees the Saudis insisting on Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) fighting the winner of the Fury-Usyk fight on May 18th.
The Importance of a Clear Victory
“If there’s a very controversial close fight between Fury and Usyk, they probably have to do a second one,” said boxing expert Gareth A. Davies to Charlie Parson’s YouTube channel, talking about the May 18th fight between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and IBF, WBA and WBO champ Oleksandr Usyk.
It would be difficult for the Saudis to insist on Usyk stepping aside if he loses a close, controversial decision to Fury on May 18th. That would be the second straight fight for Fury in which he was involved in a controversial outcome, and it would tarnish the Saudi’s next event involving him.
Ideally, the Saudis should have insisted on Fury fighting a rematch against Francis Ngannou after his questionable 10-round split decision last October. Letting Fury walk away with that win hurt his image, and the black cloud has followed him into his fight against Usyk.
Joshua’s Path Back to Glory
“If Fury stops Usyk, you could easily see a step aside for Oleksandr Usyk, and Fury and Joshua [then fight],” said Gareth. “There’s not much out there [in terms of viable, entertaining fights] for Joshua to get his teeth into, and I think we want to see him fight or undisputed next.”
There’s nobody out there for Joshua to fight while he waits for the smoke to clear from the Fury-Usyk match-up, which is why it’s important that he gets a chance to fight Fury straight away if he’s victorious on May 18th.
If Usyk wins, Joshua should wait and likely will until the two have a rematch. The Saudis aren’t going to want Joshua to face Usyk, given that he’s already beaten him twice and would likely do it again.
“So, I could see that opening Riyadh season, Joshua against Fury in October or November, and also for the Saudi Arabians, that’s the fight because I think it’s going to be over there,” said Gareth. “That’s the fight that maybe 10 to 15,000 Brits will travel to.
“The Saudi Arabians have invested in these heavyweight events. I can’t see it being anywhere else other than Saudi Arabia.
“More than anything, Anthony Joshua has made himself very marketable, and he knows what he is again. I think Fury being at the press conference last Wednesday really lit it up. Joshua dealt with his nerves early in the fight. Ngannou made the mistake of switching to southpaw early, just trying out the shape. It was definitely a mistake,” said Gareth.
