Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury is still one of the most hotly anticipated fights in boxing.
Fans have been clambering to see the contest for several years and it appears both men are now on the cusp of finally sharing the ring together.
Joshua and Fury have been two of the top names in heavyweight boxing for yearsCredit: GETTY
If Joshua can beat Daniel Dubois on September 21 and Fury can exact his revenge over Oleksandr Usyk on December 21, then Saudi boxing chief HE Turki Alalshikh has always insisted they will fight each other next.
“Joshua if he wins, he will wait for the result of Tyson and Usyk, this is the big fight and everyone will wait for it,” HE Alalshikh told Charlie Parsons via an X Space.
“If Tyson wins then that means we must see Joshua vs Tyson. One of the biggest fights in boxing,all the people want to see it.”
What wasn’t as clear was what would happen if one of them fell to defeat.
Clarifying Saudi Arabia’s stance on the fight if that scenario were to play out, HE Alalshikh added: “I will tell you the clear answers.
“Even if they lost before it doesn’t mean everyone doesn’t want to see it.
“First of all if Usyk wins then he deserves to choose a big fight and this will be his right, right?
“If he chooses Joshua and Joshua accepts then we want to do this fight but still at the same time we want to see Tyson vs Joshua.
“Let’s see what Tyson will do on this night and whether he will give us on December 21 a great fight then for sure we want to see him against Joshua.
“This would be huge for the fans and for boxing.”
Alalshikh is still open to making Joshua vs Fury if the Brit loses to Usyk on December 21Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom
Usyk vs Joshua III is also a real possibility if they both agree to itCredit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom
Clearly, it is dependent on the manner in which they lose.
A devastating defeat that doesn’t offer much in terms of redeeming qualities may spell the end of the much-anticipated all-British showdown altogether.
But a tight and competitive loss wouldn’t dim interest too much.
Providing both men win their next fights then their showdown will likely be for all four major sanctioning body belts.
Usyk defeated Fury via split decision in May to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
However, he vacated the IBF strap to pursue his rematch with Fury.
As a result, Dubois was elevated from ‘interim’ to full IBF champion and will defend his title against Joshua, while Fury and Usyk duke it out for the WBC, WBA, and WBO belts.