The President of Top Rank, Todd duBoef, believes Anthony Joshua ‘cannot afford to lose’ against Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua faced his mandatory challenger Usyk in September last year, and after going into the ring as the heavy favourite, he emerged without his three heavyweight titles.
Usyk was obliged to honour a rematch clause when it was activated, and delays due to the war in Ukraine and other factors mean it will be Aug. 20 when the pair fight again, this time in Saudi Arabia.
DuBoef also believes that WBC champion Tyson Fury could come out of retirement to face the winner.
"People have asked me that a lot. We've been told to stay down. Fury's retired. He hasn't said he's coming out of retirement," DuBoef told Sky Sports. "He hasn't said anything, so what do you do? I think it kind of plays its way through. I think the result of the [Usyk-Joshua] fight is going to be a very significant piece of the whole heavyweight division. Public opinion is this is AJ's last hurrah. He can't afford to lose this one again. He can't afford to. People are not going to be as forgiving. He may not be as forgiving on himself. Change of trainer, change of a lot of stuff. The style obviously bothered him in the last fight. This is going to answer a lot of questions.
“With Usyk, we know he's a terrific fighter, terrific story. Left Ukraine during these God awful times to get prepared for the fight. A world-class boxer, the question is, can he really manage the heavyweight division, or did he just get the right guy? So I think a lot of things have to be answered in the coming weeks. One of the things I've kind of released myself as to the outcome is what the mindset of a boxer is. I can't tell you what they're thinking. It's really hard for us. Tyson's made a tremendous amount of money. He's made a tremendous impact on the sport globally. He did exactly what he said he was going to do and what he wanted to do.
"How much more is there for him, and how much more does he need? That's in his brain and in his family and his decision-making. We can all sit around and speculate at what he's going to do. But I think it's really in his court. There is an unpredictability that he has and a stubbornness, a way to be like this is what I'm doing, and I'm doing it. I think you've just got to let that car ride its course and let it go and let him decide what he wants to do."