Last year, Anthony Joshua succumbed to one of the most disheartening career losses to the stout Oleksandr Usyk. In this fight, Joshua put his WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles on the line, eventually losing them via unanimous decision to Usyk. Since then, he’s remained keen on settling scores with the Ukrainian fighting icon.

However, amidst the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine, there’s all the possibility of this fight getting delayed.

Recently, Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, spoke to Ariel Helwani. Here, he talked about this fight, ‘AJ’ getting into an interim bout, and more.

Hearn said – “He (Usyk) can have the time he needs. We don’t want any other fight other than Oleksandr Usyk so whether there’s a delay to that fight and we have an interim bout, I guess that’s subject to you know the situation with Oleksandr Usyk and how much time that he needs.” 

“We wouldn’t be looking to get out of our obligation, is what I’m saying. The only fight ‘AJ’ wants right now is Oleksandr Usyk. If we have to fight in between, no problem at all.” Hearn added.

Before fighting Usyk, Joshua was in contention to meet Tyson Fury for an undisputed fight.

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However, Usyk dethroning him from his spot, poured cold water on the iconic undisputed clash between the Brits. Citing that, ‘AJ’ is keen to insert his cards right, and possibly beat Usyk to keep himself up for an undisputed fight.

Is an interim fight the best option for Anthony Joshua?

The future seems absolutely uncertain and unpredictable due to the ongoing crisis. As a result, it’s not easy to determine as to when will Joshua and Usyk fight again.

Looking at the prevailing scenario, an interim fight seems the best option for Joshua. Also, an interim fight will help him curb his ring rust, and possibly make him even more ready to square off with Usyk.

It’ll be interesting to see what Joshua and his team come up with in the next few weeks.

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What do you make of Hearn’s comments? Do you wish to see ‘AJ’ go for an interim fight?