Fury vs Usyk is ON | Joshua to step aside!

Anthony Joshua is set to Take £15million Payoff to Step Aside and Allow Fury Vs Usyk Heavyweight Unification Fight.

Reports suggest that former World Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua will accept a payoff to forgo rematch clause with Oleksander Usyk

Anthony Joshua will accept a £15 million payout to forgo his rematch clause and allow Oleksander Usyk to face Tyson Fury later this year according to recent reports.

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Could we finally see a unified champion?

The Fury Vs Usyk fight is said to be in the works for later this year, with the winner set to become the first undisputed World Heavyweight Champion since Lennox Lewis unified the belts by defeating Evander Holyfield back in 1999.

Joshua had initially been set to rematch Usyk after losing a unanimous decision to the Ukrainian former Cruiserweight Champion in September, but will instead now wait in the wings as the belts are unified and then face the winner of Usyk and Fury later this year.

AJ isn't the only obstacle to overcome...

Joshua is not the only fighter that will need to be placated in order for the unification bout to go ahead, however. Former world title challenger Dillion Whyte is currently the mandatory challenger for Fury's WBC title, and has long been campaigning for a shot at his fellow Brit's crown.

Negotiations between Fury and Whyte's camps have been fraught with difficulties, however, with purse bids for the proposed match-up having been delayed on multiple occasions, most recently to the 26th of January. Should the upcoming talks between the two fighters' teams prove to be unproductive, Whyte may also be offered a cash incentive to step aside to allow the Fury and Usyk super fight to go ahead, with The Daily Mail reporting that the fee could be in up to £5,000,000.

Despite the obstacles that remain in booking the fight, Fury's promoter Frank Warren explained in an interview with the Telegraph that he is confident that the fight between Tyson and Usyk will go ahead as planned.

“It’s a saga but if we can keep things between us, we can get something over the line one way or another. Everybody in boxing wants to see the undisputed fight between Tyson and Usyk, I want to see it just as a fan. So that is the fight we are trying to make.”

Fury is in the shortlist despite not wanting to be.

A long history of difficulties

This development is just the latest iteration of the long-running saga between Joshua and Fury's camps. In March of last year, it appeared that the long-running feud between the two fighters would finally be settled in the ring, with a 50-50 revenue split agreed, and a potential venue allegedly being secured in Saudi Arabia for August.

Ultimately the proposed bout would be nixed as Deontay Wilder refused an offer to step aside, forcing Joshua to instead pursue the bout with Usyk while Fury would ultimately emerge victorious in his trilogy bout with Wilder, stopping the American in the eleventh round.

Will Joshua step aside to allow the fight between Fury and Usyk to take place? Boxing fans everywhere will hope so.