Turki Alalshikh: Offer Will Be Made For Fury v Joshua – But AJ Needs To Beat Dubois
Boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh has revealed he is preparing an offer for a “huge” heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, but it is dependent on AJ defeating Daniel Dubois later this month.
Joshua (28-3-0 25 KO) bids to become a three-time heavyweight world champion on September 21 when he takes on IBF title holder Dubois (21-2-0 20 KO) in the headline bout of Riyadh Season’s first show in London at Wembley Stadium.
Meanwhile, Fury (34-1-1 24 KO) is preparing for his rematch with unified world champion Oleksandr Usyk (22-0-0 14 KO), which will take place on December 21 at the same venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where their undisputed bout occurred in May.
Both heavyweight mega-fights will be overseen by Alalshikh, who has been pushing for Joshua and Fury to finally settle their rivalry in the ring. The Saudi Arabian even pulled Fury up on Facetime while sitting with Joshua following the announcement of his fight with Dubois and urged the two British fighters to get it on.
“For the business, of course, it will be a huge fight if Joshua wins,” Alalshikh told Talksport. “His third time [winning] a world title and [after] the result of Usyk versus Fury it will be a huge fight. But you don’t know about the future. Imagine Tyson after the fight with Usyk wants to retire.
“I will give him the offer, but if he refuses, what can I do? First of all, Dubois has a very big chance and it is not easy. I think it is a difficult fight for Joshua and a dangerous fight for Joshua. If Usyk wins, still I want to see Fury versus Joshua if they accept. I will not try to do the third fight [between Usyk and Joshua] before having Fury versus Joshua.
“I think Joshua will win [against Dubois] but you don’t know. I picked Deontay Wilder against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, and he lost. This is boxing, especially the heavyweights. But I want to see Fury versus Joshua and the world wants to see Fury versus Joshua.”
Indeed, it does appear that any showdown between Joshua and Fury would likely be reliant on AJ winning later this month. Should Joshua beat Dubois and claim the IBF title, it will guarantee a world belt is on the line even if Fury loses for a second time to Usyk.
However, the dream scenario for Alalshikh and British boxing fans would be for both Joshua and Fury to emerge victorious and for their bout to be for the undisputed title.
Joshua’s trainer Ben Davison has been pushing for a trilogy bout with Usyk, but having twice lost to the Ukrainian, the demand from fans is not quite the same as a potential showdown with Fury.
AJ and Fury have once been close to agreeing a fight having signed terms for a bout in 2021 that could have turned into a multi-fight deal. However, a US court ruled that Deontay Wilder had a legal right to request a trilogy bout with Fury after losing his WBC world title to the Gypsy King.
Joshua instead agreed to fight Usyk, whom he lost to twice. September 21 will be his first world title fight since his successive losses to the Ukrainian.
