Anthony Joshua twice came up short to Oleksandr Usyk, but the Matchroom founder says he still wants to avenge those losses.
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Matchroom founder Barry Hearn tells Sky Sports that his company has a responsibility to deliver a big British fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury — who is currently scheduled to rematch Oleksandr Usyk while Joshua is lined up to face Daniel Dubois. But while Fury is focused on Usyk, Hearn says Joshua also has an eye on the Ukrainian who beat him in back to back fights between 2021-2022.
“He wants to beat Usyk,” Hearn said. “Because the first fight he had with Usyk, frankly he came out second best. He went away, he regrouped, he learned, he studied and he still got beat in the second fight. That’s why he got so disappointed in the second fight.”
Hearn would continue by characterizing Joshua as a special type of athlete who is motivated by much more than money, and it’s his competitive spirit that drives him to try to reach boxing’s mountaintop once again.
“These people want to win and they want a legacy. I don’t think Anthony Joshua will sleep at night until he is unified.”
Joshua, however, mustn’t get distracted from the task at hand as a loss to Dubois could likely ruin the prospects for him getting the fights he’s looking towards. Joshua and Dubios will go head-to-head on September 21 at Wembley Stadium while Fury and Usyk rematch in December, and should everything go according to Matchroom’s plans, there will be another big fight for Joshua to come thereafter.
