AJ OK TO FILL IN FOR USYK-FURY Hearn: He’ll be ready to go if either fighter pulls out again
ANTHONY JOSHUA will be ready to step in if Oleksandr Usyk’s clash with Tyson Fury is delayed again.
Fury was forced to pull out of his undisputed bout with the Ukrainian, scheduled for Saturday, due to a cut eye.
The two heavyweights are now set to meet in Saudi Arabia on May 18.
Joshua will also do battle in Saudi in the coming weeks, taking on former UFC champion Francis Ngannou on March 8.
Despite the short turnaround, AJ’S promoter Eddie Hearn insists the Watford fighter will be ready to take on Fury or Usyk should one of them pull out.
“We’ll be ready,” Hearn said. “The amazing thing with Anthony is he will be boxing four times in 11 months, which has been brilliant for him.
“It’s so refreshing for his career after so many periods of inactivity through COVID and dealing with big stadium fights and mandatory obligations and people messing around.
“He will need a rest at some point, but if he comes through Ngannou well and that opportunity presented itself, I would think he’d be ready to fight Fury or Usyk.”
Joshua has beaten Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, and Otto Wallin in the past 10 months.
Hearn saw Reece Bellotti win the featherweight Commonwealth title off Liam Dillon by unanimous decision on Saturday night.
At middleweight, Hamzah Sheeraz stopped former world title challenger Liam Williams in the first round. And Frank Warren wants Sheeraz to take on Chris Eubank Jr next up.
Looking to the future for the 24-year-old, Warren said: “Eubank - if he’s got the balls to do it, because he’d need big balls to get in the ring with him.
“He just wants big fights and we want to deliver big fights for him because he is very, very capable. He is off the leash.
“No one does that to Liam Williams. The way he handled it from the first jab, it was a magnificent performance.
“I genuinely believe a star is born and I genuinely believe he will win a world title and hold that title for as long as he likes.”
Anthony Yarde also moved closer to a fight with long-time rival Joshua Buatsi as he blew Serbian Marko Nikolic away in three rounds.
That was more impressive than Buatsi, who claimed a unanimous decision over Dan Azeez one week earlier.
The unbeaten Buatsi leapt in to gatecrash rival Yarde’s post-fight celebrations, and claimed: “I would be at home if I didn’t have interest.
“I don’t want to ambush Anthony’s night, this is his moment, but I am here to show I am down for it.”
While Yarde added: “This fight between me and JB is a hundred times bigger. We’ve always had it in our minds we’re going to fight, we’ll get it cracking.
“I’m ready whenever. I’ve got a team, Joshua’s got a team.
“It’s about making a deal and making it happen.”