Joshua faces ‘Plan B’ as court ruling puts fight with Fury in doubt

The showdown for the world’s undisputed heavyweight championship between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury seems to have been plunged into doubt following a US legal ruling.

According to BBC, a court ruled in mediation that Wilder has a contractual right to face Fury for a third time before September 15.

The ruling came after a protracted contest from Wilder’s team following the postponement of the bout in July 2020.

The verdict also came at about the same time when Fury had confirmed that he would face Joshua on August 14 in Saudi Arabia — dealing a blow to the highly anticipated bout.

“massive announcement” FURY VS JOSHUA IS ON AUGUST 14 in The kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The worlds biggest sporting event all eyes on us. @SCEEKSA @gsaksa_en @trboxing @mtkglobal @frankwarren_tv @marbella @wowhydrate #LETTHEGAMESBEGIN #saudiarabia #TYSONOFARABIA pic.twitter.com/ZKIAXLictV

— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) May 16, 2021

Reacting to the latest development, Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, in a chat with Matchroom on Tuesday, said the unified world heavyweight champion is already looking elsewhere.

He also hinted at the potential of Oleksandr Usyk, Ukrainian boxer, being Joshua’s next opponent.

“Absolutely. I had been focusing on Plan A. The only fight was Fury and we hope it can still take place,” he said.

“The game changed – we have to have a Plan B in place, and probably a Plan C. The move [for Fury’s team] was to speak [to Wilder’s team] to see if there is a resolution [such as a step-aside fee for Wilder]. We can’t control that.

“As far as I understand, Fury wants to fight Joshua and we had the deal to do so on August 14 in Saudi Arabia.

“We have to get our side in order, make sure we have our own plans. Hopefully, they can resolve the issue and we can move forward with the August 14 fight. Over to them!

“They were wrong. That’s on them. It’s their responsibility, their problem. We hope they solve that problem but we have to look after Joshua. We have different options. The one that springs to mind is Usyk.”