Anthony Joshua - If it was up to me I'd fight Usyk and Wilder vs Fury 2 winner this year

Anthony Joshua has revealed his own preferred agenda for 2020, in conference with Sky Sports pundit and former world champion Johnny Nelson.

While we have been told that an IBF mandatory defence against Kubrat Pulev is "very close" as AJ’s next fight, the unified heavyweight king would much prefer to face his WBO No. 1 challenger then the winner of the February 22 Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury rematch.

"If it was up to me, in 2020 I’d fight Usyk and the winner of Wilder versus Fury," saidJoshua, who was appearing at a Club Wembley members event in London. "It will be better for me to fight Fury or Wilder now before they took a loss. In a weird way losing does something to you and the experience of going through it can bring out the best in you. A fight with the winner will happen for sure."

Joshua appears to have rekindled his love for boxing after a tumultuous 2019 that saw him lose his crowns in a shock upset to Andy Ruiz in June before regaining them after handing out a boxing lesson in their December return. He reflected to Nelson on the surprise defeat and his ultimate redemption.

"My uncle wrote out a list of heavyweights when I turned pro and Andy Ruiz got listed as the ‘Upset King’," Joshua recalled. "We thought he was underrated and undervalued but had a lot of skills and could cause an upset.
"I could tell you a million things but I lost, that is the situation. What I had to do was go away and look at what I needed to change.
"The whole [rematch] was a mental situation. If you want the same result I do the same thing and that’s why I had to change certain aspects. I just needed to win and I had to do what I had to do to win. In terms of sticking to a game plan, it’s difficult to do it for 12 rounds. When I looked at Ruiz and saw he was three stone heavier than me I thought if he catches me he’s going to knock me out! So this fight was all about skill."

For more information regarding Club Wembley experiences please visit clubwembley.com.