Anthony Joshua close to accepting £15m step aside fee for Tyson Fury to take on Oleksandr Usyk - reports

Anthony Joshua is reportedly close to agreeing a £15m step-aside fee, freeing up Oleksandr Usyk to take on Tyson Fury in a heavyweight unification fight. The former world champion had been targeting a rematch with the Ukrainian, who beat the London 2012 gold medallist in September to claim the WBA, WBO and IBF belts.

Ad/> Fury, who holds the WBC title after another win over Deontay Wilder in October, is due to take on mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte — but purse bids for that bout have been delayed several times and Whyte would also be offered a sizable fee to step aside. BoxingAIBA Becomes IBA As Extraordinary Congress Embraces Widespread Reform18/12/2021 AT 16:50 Telegraph Sport is reporting that Joshua will accept the huge fee, which will almost certainly mean he will face the winner of Fury v Usyk, for a chance to not only regain the belts he lost — but become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

A deal could be announced this week, as Fury’s potential battle with Whyte is to enter further negotiations, with March 26 a possible date to hold the super fight at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. 'I'm done with losing' — Joshua vows to learn from Oleksandr Usyk defeat Joshua loses world titles to masterful Usyk in unanimous decision Fury defeats Wilder to retain his WBC heavyweight crown ​​ Promoters on all sides are locked in a game of chess to get the best possible deal — both for their boxers and the worldwide TV audience.

“We are all still moving toward Joshua vs Usyk and Fury vs Whyte but there are still people who would like to see Fury vs Usyk for the undisputed and would be willing to pay a lot of money for it," Joshua and Whyte's promoter Eddie Hearn recently told Boxing Social. “If there is a