Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter taunts ‘King’ Anthony Joshua over whether he is ‘brave enough’ to agree to fight

OLEKSANDR USYK’S promoter has taunted Anthony Joshua over whether he is ‘brave enough’ to agree to a fight.

AJ’s reps have been locked in talks over a showdown with the former undisputed cruiserweight king following the collapse of his Saudi showdown with Tyson Fury.

Negotiations have so far failed to bear fruit and and that has led to the possibility of Joshua’s mandatory title defence going to a purse bid.

And Usyk’s team has sent a jab to the British star by expressing his doubt over whether AJ will face the Ukrainian in the ring.

Promoter Alexander Krassyuk told Sky Sports: “We are waiting for King AJ’s decision whether he is brave enough to get dethroned.”

Asked if he expected a deal to be struck, he added: “I have no idea at the moment. We are expecting his decision.”

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SunSport previously reported that Joshua could end up vacating his WBO heavyweight title if a deal for him to face Usyk can’t be reached.

 Eddie Hearn said: “We’ll either make a deal or we’ll vacate.

“I mean, we won’t be going to purse bids or anything like that, and mucking around.

“By the way, I don’t blame the WBO. They were actually quite generous to us with our time. I mean, let’s be honest – it dragged on a lot, didn’t it?

“So, I have to take my hat off to [WBO president] Paco Valcarcel, because he did put himself, his neck on the line, to allow that fight, when Usyk had a strong case for it not to be allowed.

“But when the time come, [Valcarcel] had to do what he had to do. So, I’m not annoyed with the WBO.

“I’m just annoyed that it seems that basically AJ is told who he’s got to fight every single time.

“But that’s the problem of having three or four belts. That’s just how it is.”

Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk