ANTHONY JOSHUA versus Daniel Dubois on September 21st at Wembley Stadium will be for the IBF World Heavyweight Title.
Oleksandr Usyk has revealed that the red belt he earned with back-to-back decision wins over AJ – and defended against Dubois and Tyson Fury – will be up for grabs.
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The belt is the first world title that 34-year-old Joshua won in 2016, when he dethroned Charles Martin.
And now it will be up for grabs again after 37-year-old Ukrainian icon Usyk revealed he handed over the belt voluntarily or was stripped of it.
The undisputed WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO boss – who has just won a sensational war with Tyson Fury – revealed: “Anthony and Daniel, listen, I know the IBF title is important to you.
“It’s my gift to you on September 21st. Glory to Ukraine.”
This means that the December 21st rematch between Usyk and Fury will not be an undisputed rematch.
In May, the little southpaw brought all three old versions of AJ to the table as the Gypsy King lost his much-loved WBC crown.
The plan now appears to be for the winner of AJ and Dubois, 26, to face the winner of the rematch between Usyk and Fury.
And Fury – who was bravely allowed to continue after a ninth-round crash and was presented with a victory on a judge’s scorecard for a split defeat – bizarrely claims he will need a knockout to get a fair shot at Usyk for a second time.
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He said: “I have to get him out of there because I’m not going to make a decision, which is a shame because it’s hard enough to win a fight, let alone win it when you knock someone out.
“But I’m confident and looking forward to the challenge.
“It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be, the Usyk fight, a lot easier.
“People said he was a difficult man to hit, but I attacked him with three- and four-punch combinations and laughed at him.
“My problem with that fight was that it was probably too easy.
“Sometimes it was really easy, it was like I was there with a local amateur boxer and I was really enjoying it and joking around. And for that I paid the ultimate price in the ninth round, when I had too much fun and got hit.
“I’ve always been told ‘never mix work with play’ and I’ve always stuck my middle finger up to it – but now it’s come back to bite me. I still liked it, it was all good.
“I heard he has a broken jaw and a broken eye socket, so I hope he recovers and I will see him again in December for a Christmas extravaganza in Saudi Arabia.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
