In recent times, WBO has asked Anthony Joshua to compete with Oleksandr Usyk to protect the heavy championship belt. The reason is because the match against Tyson Fury was canceled.
Joshua's boss, Eddie Hearn, told the media this weekend that he would not put Joshua-Eusyk into a remuneration auction and confirm that returning the WBO belt was a possible option.
“We will make a good deal or we will pay the belt. I mean, we will not take into account the auction or anything similar and wildly.
The only famous opponent Joshua (January 24, 22 Ko) can fight outside USYK (18-0, 13 Ko) right now will be Dillian Whyte. Joshua defeated Whyte (February 28, 19) in 2015, before AJ won his first world championship, and the idea of rematch had been really exploding since then.
But this does not mean that the match between Joshua and USYK will certainly not happen. If the parties can agree on the appropriate amount, the competition still has the opportunity. Hearn said many times that AJ did not want to return the championship, that he was proud to hold all of them.
Eddie Hearn's statement also created an opportunity for Usyk's team to deliberately cause Joshua to pay the belt. The reason is that when the match Joshua vs Fury was planned, Usyk and Joe Joyce were arranged to compete with the temporary WBO belt. If Joshua pays the belt, the USYK vs Joyce match will officially compete.