Izuchukwu Okosi
Former world’s heavyweight boxer of Nigerian heritage Anthony Joshua has played down media reports that he is will most likely accept a £15million payout to allow his rivals Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk fight for the undisputed heavyweight title.
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Reports emerged yesterday that Watford-born Joshua whose father originally hails from Ogun state, South West Nigeria, was going to accept a massive money offer to let Fury and Usyk fight this year despite being contractually obligated to a rematch with the Ukrainian.
The Telegraph first reported the news, saying that no official decision had yet been made but that Briton Joshua was “close” to accepting a huge deal to forego his second fight with Usyk for £15m.
However, Joshua has hit back at that claim, calling it “bulls***” in a new social media video.
“You know what’s mad about all these interviews I see?” Joshua asked fans. “I see certain interviews that quote what I said.
“But I think to myself ‘I ain’t done no interviews,’ where did this person get this information from.
“I’m hearing people saying ‘AJ accepts £15million to step aside, I ain’t signed no contract – I ain’t seen no contract.
“As it stands, stop listening to the bulls*** until it comes from me, I’m the man in control of my destiny, I’m the man that handles my business.
“I’m a smart individual and I make calculated decisions every step of the way.
“Don’t listen to the bulls*** from other sources, if I tell you something then you know it’s real.
Joshua has been remaining laser focused on a rematch with Usyk since losing his belts to the former undisputed cruiserweight champion last September.
The pair were forced to fight after Usyk was ordered as WBO mandatory challenger when a fight between Joshua and Fury fell through for legal reasons.
Fury instead had to fight Deontay Wilder for a third time, stopping him in the eleventh round of a thrilling contest on October 9.
And Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn admitted last week to Mirror Fighting that there were large sums of money on the table to make Fury vs Usyk happen.
“There are substantial amounts of money available,” he said at a press conference for Leigh Wood vs Michael Conlan.
“And there are people who want to try and make this route happen.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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