ANTHONY JOSHUA will replace a battered and bruised Tyson Fury and give Saudi Arabia a Christmas cracker next month.
The 35-year-old WBC Gypsy King was scheduled to settle an unquestionable decider against WBA, IBF and WBO boss Oleksandr Usyk on December 23 in Riyadh.
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Anthony Joshua has made a big change to his plans for the Riyadh fightCredit: BBC
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Otto Wallin left Tyson Fury with a large cut over his eye when the two heavyweights fought in Las Vegas four years agoCredit: Getty
But he threw out his lines at a rehearsal on October 28 when he was beaten by boxing debutant Francis Ngannou and needed a generous round of consideration to maintain his unbeaten record.
But boxing’s movers and shakers in the Middle East were never going to let the date pass them by so they packed a card full of challengers and heavyweight contenders, while they await the main course.
AJ, 34, will take on giant Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin, who took 49 stitches to Fury’s eye when they boxed in 2019.
And bronze bomber Deontay Wilder – another Fury victim – will face the Morecambe giant’s best friend and training partner Joseph Parker.
SunSport understands that the plan was for AJ to have another fight in March and then launch a bid for the IBF heavyweight title, which will be stripped from the winner of the showdown in February and who will compete again.
But the cash on offer from the kingdom convinced the Watford legend from London 2012 to put his carefully laid plans on hold and dive into the mega-money event.
That decision was confirmed on Monday when he posed for a photo with Turki Alalshikha, the new driving force behind the region’s takeover of entertainment and tourism.
Daniel Dubois, the 26-year-old Londoner who lasted nine rounds with Usyka in August, is expected to face the dreaded American drug lord Jarrell Miller, who scoffed at the periodic table before being pulled from a planned fight with AJ for in 2019
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Fury and Usyk are expected to settle scores – and all four belts – on February 17 or 24 at the same Kingdom Arena.
A press conference announcing the iconic fight between the Briton and the former undisputed ruler of the cruiserweight division is expected on Thursday.
But – after so many false dawns – Usyk will only really believe he’s fighting Fury when the 6ft 9in giant looms over him.
The Ukrainian told us: “I want to end my wonderful 20-year career and journey with Tyson Fury. I have to fight him.
“But it’s not until we have weigh-ins on Friday and we wake up on Saturday morning and travel to the venue that I’ll really believe it’s happening.
“It’s about being the undisputed world champion in two weights, the two biggest weights.
“It’s not about the money or the belts. It’s about the history.”
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Source: HIS Education