Anthony Joshua must still decide what mandatory challenger he's going to face next: Kubrat Pulev or Oleksandr Usyk.
In the meantime, the unified world heavyweight champion can't help but weigh in on the Feb. 22 rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury. When speaking with Sky Sports on Tuesday, Joshua said he's supporting Fury in the highly anticipated fight for selfish reasons.
"Firstly, good luck for your fight in February. Wishing you well. Bring the belts back here," Joshua said, openly rooting for Fury.
"And then imagine having that fight in Tottenham as well. That would be phenomenal," AJ said, speaking of a possible undisputed bout between he and Fury on their home soil in London. "That's why I'm supporting Fury because imagine the local kids being able to watch the undisputed championship of the world on their doorstep. They gotta catch a little Uber, little taxi down the road or ride their pedal bike down to the stadium.
"How unbelievable would that be? I'd love it to be here in the UK, so good luck to him. I'm wishing him well."
That's not to say that Joshua is no longer interested in facing Wilder — because he is, very much so. Joshua says the majority of fight fans would rather see he and Wilder vie for the one-face, one-name banner that comes with the undisputed crown.
"Everyone wants Wilder to win (over Fury) because that's the fight everyone wants to see," Joshua said. "Wilder's got a big right hand, I've got a great left hand, so it's going to be a matchup of a great boxing match."
Joshua added that his and Wilder's respective camps had a meeting about such a fight, but he understands that Wilder, the WBC champion, and Fury, the lineal titleholder, already have a trilogy bout in mind for the fourth quarter of 2020.
"We had a meeting about that. It has great potential. I heard (Wilder and Fury) have a third fight lined up toward the end of the year, but what we have to do is throw a curveball in there," Joshua offered. "Something that gets Wilder's attention, providing he wins, so that he thinks to himself — 'Even though I have a rematch clause, I'll see how I can manipulate my contract, get out of it, and fight for the undisputed championship of the world.'"
In order for that situation to even present itself, though, Wilder must defeat Fury and Joshua must handle his business against either of Pulev or Usyk. On Tuesday, ESPN reported that Joshua will likely face Pulev after the IBF extended AJ's promoter Eddie Hearn's deadline until Jan. 31 to make a deal. If that fight is made, Usyk, Joshua's WBO mandatory challenger, will likely take his second bout at heavyweight. Both Joshua and Usyk are promoted by Hearn and fight on DAZN.