TYSON FURY will be ringside to watch Anthony Joshua fight Francis Ngannou knowing their paths could be destined to meet.
AJ returns against MMA star Ngannou TONIGHT in Saudi Arabia with Fury making the trip to Riyadh to watch it.
2
2
The Gypsy King is in camp for his rearranged May 18 undisputed bout with Oleksandr Usyk having pulled out of the February 17 date due to a cut.
And the winner of the unified title fight will then be lined up to face either Joshua or Ngannou.
So here, SunSport looks at when the British boxing fans could finally get fight that has been teased for so many years.
When would Fury and Joshua fight?
Despite the winner between Joshua, 34, and Ngannou, 37, being promised a shot at the undisputed crown, it is not that simple.
That is because Fury, 35, and Usyk, 37, have agreed to a two-fight deal, meaning they will box twice this year.
So it rules out AJ potentially challenging Fury until 2025 at the earliest.
What would be on the line?
If Fury prevails from his double header against Usyk, he should do so with all four heavyweight belts.
But he also faces being stripped of the IBF version after his first fight as Filip Hrgovic is the mandatory challenger.
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
So if Fury rematches Usyk and is stripped, Joshua is being lined up to fight Hrgovic for the vacant IBF belt, which he could in theory then defend against the Gypsy King later down the line.
What has been said?
Joshua has refused to comment on any other business except Ngannou – but Fury has been a lot more vocal.
He said: “Turki (Alalshikh), I was talking with him last night about it and he said the winner of this fight, will get the winner of you and Usyk.
“After me and Usyk fight and have a rematch, then the winner of this will get a shot at that.
“So me and Usyk have two fights lined up this year. So the winner of that fight will get to fight the winner of this fight. So there’s a lot on the line.”
AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn reckons they could slide in to fight Fury before an Usyk rematch but will settle for Hrgovic and the vacant title if needed.
He told Boxing News: “You know that if AJ knocks out Ngannou and Fury beats Usyk His Excellency will have the opportunity to make the biggest fight in the sport, one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport [and] it’ll be very difficult for him not to do it.
“We’ve been told that if we beat Ngannou we’ll get the undisputed shot, that was prior to the Fury cut.
“If we have to fight Hrgovic in the meantime for the world title no problem as well.”
ANTHONY JOSHUA VS FRANCIS NGANNOU: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF HUGE CROSSOVER BOUT
