Tyson Fury backed to cancel Oleksandr Usyk fight and take on Anthony Joshua instead

Tyson Fury could be set to bail on his upcoming bout with Oleksandr Usyk and instead clear a path to take on Anthony Joshua in a fight that would have boxing fans around the world on the edge of their seats.

That is the view of former WBA super-middleweight champion, George Groves. The 36-year-old, who went toe-to-toe with the likes of Carl Froch and Chris Eubank Jr before retiring in 2019, believes that the Gypsy King may not make it into the ring to fight Usyk on May 18.

“I’ve said since the start – I’ll believe it when I see it,” Groves told Betway. “I don’t think Fury has ever fancied the Usyk fight. He’s talking about having 10 more fights, but if he loses to Usyk how does that work? It’s a massive risk for him to fight Usyk. He’s probably really hoping that Usyk can’t take a body shot.”

Fury was initially due to take on Usyk in February, but a freak accident suffered in sparring left him needing 11 stitches following a cut to his eye. Groves believes that the aftermath of that incident told him all he needed to know about Fury’s intentions of stepping into the ring.

“When the fight got postponed after the cut, I wasn’t surprised,” he added. “It gave me the feeling that this fight will never happen…

“We saw Eddie Hearn [Joshua’s promoter] almost say that Joshua vs Fury trumps Fury vs Usyk after AJ beat [Francis] Ngannou. I thought to myself, I bet Fury would rather have a bit of Joshua than Usyk because he’ll see that as an easier fight.”

Hearn has indeed pleaded with Fury to beat Usyk when the two meet next month. Joshua’s promoter believes that a showdown between the two British giants would be one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport.

Joshua beat Ngannou with a devastating knockout in the second round when the pair took to the ring in March, but Fury needed a split decision from the judges to seal victory over the same opponent when they fought last October.

Groves believes that the different performance levels from the pair in their respective fights against Ngannou will have fans thinking that AJ can now beat Fury, something the latter will want to rectify the only way he can.

“People are starting to consider that AJ beats Fury after both of their performances against Ngannou,” Groves said. “It would not be a surprise if Fury wants to set the record straight and fight Joshua next and leave Usyk out.

“Usyk is probably thinking ‘I don’t know if this guy is going to show up’ because there’s still a chance Fury pulls out.”

All the eyes of the boxing world are on Fury and Usyk ahead of their fight at the Kingdom Arena, Saudi Arabia, next month.

Despite Fury being initially forced into postponing the first scheduled date for the fight, the WBC champion has reiterated his commitment that he will be touching gloves with Usyk “cut eye or not”.

Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, has also warned his fighter that the Ukrainian will target the cut on his eye, despite backing him to get the job done over Usyk within 12 rounds.