EDDIE HEARN has revealed that Anthony Joshua may have to vacate the WBO belt in order to fight British compatriot Tyson Fury.
AJ has repeatedly spoken of his desire to become the first undisputed heavyweight world champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
The 31-year-old – who ended a year out of the ring by knocking out Kubrat Pulev on Saturday night – holds the WBA, WBO and IBF belt, while Fury is the proud WBC champ.
Both Hearn and the Gypsy King’s US-based promoter Bob Arum confirmed after the bout that talks will take place to pit AJ against Fury in 2021.
But in a huge blow for Joshua, talkSPORT have claimed that the WBO may not sanction the undisputed fight.
They state that the WBO have already given the 2012 Olympic gold medallist two voluntary defences – his rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr and for his KO win over Pulev.
And they adamant that Oleksandr Usyk will be fighting for the strap next following his points victory over Derek Chisora on Halloween.
Joshua is willing to fight Usyk, but it is understood that a bout against Fury is the No1 priority.
In an interview with Behind The Gloves, Hearn has acknowledged that Joshua may have to relinquish his WBO belt.
He said: “I just saw a tweet from (WBO president) Paco Valcarcel saying we know our commitments, and yes our mandatory is Oleksandr Usyk.
“But if the WBO don’t want to be part of the undisputed fight, the biggest fight in boxing, the biggest fight of all time, there’s nothing we can do about it.
“If they won’t, then we’ll speak to Oleksandr Usyk and try to agree something. If we can’t, we’ll vacate the belt.
“If we have any chance of this sport surviving or growing then the governing bodies have to wake up.
“With all due respect, there’s only one fight people want to see, and that’s AJ vs Fury.
“Do you think any fan out there would not want it if we dropped the belt?
“He wants to be undisputed, but it’s no problem to lose one. We’ll vacate them all if it becomes a problem.”
