Fury vs Joshua: WBO may sanction fight, Oleksandr Usyk could face Joe Joyce for interim belt

Another obstacle standing in the way of an undisputed heavyweight title unification between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury could be on the verge of being removed as the WBO has officially reached out to Usyk, telling him they may sanction the fight. Usyk, of course, is currently the WBO’s mandatory challenger, but might be told to wait his turn for the time being.

Should that come to fruition, it paves way for Eddie Hearn’s proposal for Usyk to face Joe Joyce for the WBO’s interim world title instead. Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk informs Sky Sports that they have been contacted about a potential Joyce fight.

“I received the call from George Warren [the son of Joyce’s promoter Frank Warren] with the offer to promote Usyk vs Joyce for the interim WBO heavyweight championship this spring. We also received the letter from WBO saying that they are considering granting sanction for AJ vs Fury.”

Krassyuk would continue by saying that despite the contact about Joyce, Usyk has yet to receive a formal ‘step aside’ offer, saying they’ve only read reports about the possibility through the media.

“So now is the best time for the AJ vs Fury fight promoters to make Usyk a serious offer either to fight the WBO champion or to step aside and fight for the interim.”

Should this Usyk situation get sorted out, it makes it much easier for Joshua-Fury to take place with all four major world titles on the line, which would crown an undisputed heavyweight champion which we haven’t seen since Lennox Lewis.