Oleksandr Usyk has always seemed to retain a soft spot Anthony Joshua after twice beating him in 2021 and 2022.
The first time the pair met was only Usyk’s third fight up at heavyweight. He had already won everything there was to win down at cruiserweight and was on a mission to repeat the feat in the most celebrated division of them all.
After beating Joshua the first time on points, he did so again in an immediate rematch and then made a defence against Daniel Dubois before facing Tyson Fury back in May.
That undisputed heavyweight championship contest ended with another points victory for the Ukrainian southpaw who also claimed Olympic Gold in the amateurs.
Right now there are just a few days to go until he returns to the ring in Saudi Arabia to rematch Fury who is keen to overturn the result of the first contest and get revenge for the only loss on his professional ledger.
Ahead of that, Usyk took part in a round of winner stays on with DailyMail Sport and was asked who would win if Joshua were to face Wilder and he went with the Brit.
“Anthony Joshua.”
Hard-hitting Wilder was a WBC champion for many years, and Joshua held the rest of the world titles at the same time. Although the pair were long linked for a fight, it never happened, and then Wilder was dethroned by Fury.
He has since lost back-to-back against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. Though many felt he may retire, the American has confirmed he will fight on.
Since the Usyk loss, ‘AJ’ managed a string of four victories before being stopped by Daniel Dubois in his attempt to become a three-time heavyweight world champion.
With both Joshua and Wilder looking for a way back to the top whilst also being in the biggest fights possible, the explosive match-up may be more likely than ever.
