Anthony Joshua could soon have a heavyweight world title shot fall in his lap.
Joshua, a former two-time heavyweight champion of the world, was dethroned by Oleksandr Usyk and we were left wondering how he would ever return to the summit.
Well, via some rather frustrating boxing politics, Joshua could be gifted a shot at one of Usyk’s belts, which he could have no choice but to vacate in order to fight Tyson Fury.
Should Usyk vacate the IBF heavyweight title, and Andy Ruiz Jr opts to fight Deontay Wilder, only a tussle with Filip Hrgovic will stand between Joshua and three-time status.
If Oleksandr Usyk vacates his IBF and fights Tyson Fury next for the WBA, WBC & WBO, then Filip Hrgovic vs Andy Ruiz would be ordered for the vacant IBF heavyweight world title. If Ruiz fights Deontay Wilder instead, then Hrgovic vs Anthony Joshua would be ordered.
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) November 13, 2022
Of course, there are a number of ‘ifs’ involved here, which could prevent Joshua from being given the opportunity, were alternative decisions to be made by those involved.
However, it does give us a taste of how plausible it could be for Joshua to find himself back with a chance of winning a heavyweight title, just because of boxing politics.
Ideally, we’d like to see Usyk keep all of his belts so he can fight Fury to become the undisputed champion, but it remains to be seen if that is a plausible possibility at this point.
