FRANK WARREN believes Anthony Joshua should vacate his WBA, WBO and IBF belts in order to secure a fight against either Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder.
Joshua has long campaigned for a fight against the Bronze Bomber as he wishes to pick up his WBC strap in order to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
Anthony Joshua has been urged by Frank Warren to vacate his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight beltsCredit: The Mega Agency
AJ is already faced with the prospect of vacating one of his belts after he was ordered to agree world title defences against Kubrat Pulev AND Oleksandr Usyk.
Bulgarian ace Pulev is the IBF mandatory, while Usyk is the WBO’s next contender following his move up from cruiserweight.
But Warren is of the opinion that the 2012 Olympic gold medallist should ditch his belts if he wants to secure a blockbuster bust-up against Fury or Wilder.
The two hulking heavyweights face each other in their eagerly-awaited rematch on February 22 at the MGM Grand – with both men keen to face Joshua afterwards.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Warren said: “If I was Anthony Joshua I wouldn’t fight again until we know the winner of this fight [between Wilder and Fury] – and then make them make the fight.
“I’d let them strip me of my titles, and not fight anybody until the big one.”
Discussing Joshua’s potential opponent Pulev, Warren added: “The one thing about Pulev is that he can whack.
Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury face each other on February 22, with the winner keen to face AJCredit: Reuters
Promoter Warren has claimed that Joshua should avoid facing his mandatory opponentsCredit: Reuters
“So for me, I would say: you know what – I want to fight the winner of our fight [Wilder-Fury II].
“Get all the parties together, work something out, maybe with some step-aside [where mandatory opponents are compensated for giving way]. Because that’s what the public want.
“They want to know who’s the No 1. The No 3 and the No 4 fought in Saudi. The No 1 and No 2 are fighting on February 22.”
Inside Anthony Joshua’s Barbados Christmas holiday with the boys drinking coconuts on the beach in the day and partying at night
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
