Former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua intends to be ringside for the undisputed fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury vs. Usyk takes place on February 17 in Saudi Arabia. The winner will walk away with the IBF, IBO, WBO, WBA, WBC titles.
The fight has a two-way rematch clause, which makes a second encounter very likely.
Joshua’s game plan for 2024 completely changed last weekend.
The British star returned to action on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, where he battered and stopped Otto Wallin in five rounds.
He was already slated to face Deontay Wilder in a long-awaited showdown in March.
That scenario fell apart when Wilder was unexpectedly upset by Joseph Parker on the same card.
With Wilder out of the mix, the current frontrunner to face Joshua is unbeaten contender Filip Hrgovic.
Hrgovic is the IBF’s mandatory challenger to the Fury-Usyk winner. There is an outstanding order for the winner of that bout to face Hrgovic.
But because of the contracted two-way rematch clause, the IBF title will likely become vacant in the aftermath of the first Fury-Usyk encounter. And that occurrence will open the door for Joshua and Hrgovic to collide for the vacant IBF strap.
With future plans in mind, Joshua wants to be front and center when Fury-Usyk finally takes place.
“If it’s a fight for the heavyweight championship of the world or fight a big-name opponent, I will always choose the former because that’s the creme de la creme. It’s the most prestigious title you can win,” Joshua told The Sun.
“I will try to come out again for Fury and Usyk, I tend not to go to fights, but that’s an iconic one. Once that fight is out of the way, then the heavyweight division opens up again and we can start leaning toward becoming champions.
“Every fight leads toward the final destination. I have bigger ambitions, I don’t celebrate when I win these fights, I celebrate when I win world championships.”