Oleksandr Usyk’s manager wants his fighter to take on Anthony Joshua for the WBO title, but has suggested the unified champion could be scared.
Joshua beat Kubrat Pulev at the start of December in a mandatory defence of his IBF title, and is obliged to fight Usyk for his WBO belt.
However Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn have suggested that the Briton could vacate his belt in order to make the long-awaited clash with Tyson Fury in 2021, which should feature a rematch in the same year.
It has been suggested that Usyk could wait out the fights in order to get his own shot at being the undisputed heavyweight champion, but his manager Egis Klimas seems more interested in getting a fight with Joshua as soon as possible.
Speaking to boxingscene.com, Klimas saId: “We are aiming to fight for the WBO title next and Usyk wants to fight Anthony Joshua and that’s what we are going to do.
“Look, Oleksandr worked very hard all his life to get into this position, OK? All the amateur career, the gold medal in London Olympics (in 2012), undisputed cruiserweight champion and now having a couple of fights in the heavyweight division. So, he put himself into a position where he is right now and he is in a very, very powerful position today to make it happen or not to make it happen.”
Despite this, Klimas is open to negotiations with Joshua over the schedule for a possible fight.
“If I’m gonna say I won’t look into anything I would be a fool. Of course, we have to see what is the best for Oleksandr Usyk,” Klimas admitted.
“We don’t have to see what is the best for Fury or what is the best for Joshua. They have their teams looking after them. We have to see what is the best for Oleksandr Usyk.”
Klimas said he has talked about the situation with Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter and Usyk’s former co-promoter. Klimas also has a good relationship with Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, Fury’s co-promoter.
“I am not an idiot. I would sit down and talk and if it’s going to be fair, if it’s going to be something really good, of course, I will sit down and say, ‘OK, we can go in this direction and we can have this or we can go in a different direction and have this.’ But as far as today, Oleksandr told me a few times he doesn’t want to do anything. He wants to fight Anthony Joshua for the WBO title.”
Klimas went on to say that refusing to fight Usyk would mean that Joshua is scared of facing the Ukranian former cruiserweight champion.
“Giving up the WBO belt means that Anthony Joshua is scared to fight Oleksandr Usyk. It means he sees a big risk fighting Oleksandr Usyk and losing,” Klimas claimed.
“That’s what it tells me. If Anthony Joshua is 100 percent sure he can beat Oleksandr Usyk then it’s a different story. But if he is not sure, of course, he can give up the title.”