"As much as I'd like to": Joshua's promoter names favorite for Usyk – Fury rematch

Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) will be the favorite to rematch with British Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs), and the fight itself looks incredibly intriguing. At the same time, the British two-time former world champion Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) intends to fight the winner.

This opinion was expressed by promoter Eddie Hearn in an interview with Chris Manix's YouTube channel, Boxing News 24 reports. Joshua's representative noted that Usyk deservedly defeated Fury in the fight on May 18, and now everyone is looking forward to another confrontation between the boxers, which is scheduled for the fall.

"Usyk probably thinks he can win the rematch, and I think he's the favorite. The rematch is needed because it was a great fight. We had a victory for Usyk. I had a very close fight, some people had a bigger gap in rounds, but it was still a close, competitive fight. As much as I would like to see Joshua fight Fury or Usyk, I think the rematch has to happen, and I'm sure it will happen in October in Riyadh," Hearn said.

Earlier, former world champion Carl Froch named the main culprit behind Tyson's defeat of Oleksandr. He also expressed confidence that Usyk should end his career. And Fury's team called for the Ukrainian to be stripped of his International Boxing Federation (IBF) belt.

There were also three reasons why it is beneficial for promoters and organizations to leave all the belts to the Ukrainian. At the same time, our boxer's team will appeal to the IBF to make an exception for mandatory protection.

Fury has officially activated the rematch clause with Usyk. Bookmakers have already started accepting bets on the fight. They also disclosed the agreement under which the Ukrainian will lose the title of absolute champion.

Former boxer David Haye predicted that there will be no rematch between the Ukrainian and Fury. His compatriot Dereck Chisora started rumors that Oleksandr would return to the heavyweight division.

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