AJ SPURRED ON BY USYK SHOWDOWN
ANTHONY JOSHUA and Oleksandr Usyk are set to sign contracts this week for a September showdown in London.
The WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion (above) will face the unbeaten Ukrainian (below) next.
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is in the running to stage the clash but it is not known if it will be available yet. Spurs will not be able to confirm until the Premier League fixtures for next season are released later this month.
That means Wembley has not been ruled out but it would have to be after England’s September 5 clash with Andorra.
Promoter Eddie Hearn is currently leading talks between the two former Olympic gold medallists.
He is confident that a deal for the fight will be signed this week which will avoid it going to purse bids.
The Matchroom chief has been under pressure to agree with Usyk’s team as the WBO mandated the clash after the Tyson Fury bout, anticipated to take place in August, fell through.
Hearn said: “This week that fight will be signed. We’re looking at September in London. Just finalising the details.
“It’s a great fight, a dangerous fight, it’s not the one we necessarily wanted or expected. But it’s a high level heavyweight fight.
“It’s a unified heavyweight champion against the undisputed cruiserweight champion and on we go with that fight – it’s a big event.
“I can tell you that this is a more confident footing than the Joshuafury negotiations, because I know Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk very well, and I know Usyk very well.”
Hearn had claimed Joshua could relinquish the WBO belt and fight another contender such as Dillian Whyte.
But it now seems he has opted to face his mandatory challenger who is the former undisputed cruiserweight king Usyk.
Hearn added: “Give AJ the credit. I always bang on the drum that this young man is willing to fight everybody.”