Joshua given 48-hour deadline by WBO to seal £200m Fury fight

ANTHONY Joshua has been warned by the World Boxing Organisation that he has 48 hours to prove that his fight against Tyson Fury can go ahead before he is mandated to face Oleksandr Usyk.

WBO is one of three world bodies whose belts Nigerian-born Joshua holds.

He is also the word heavyweight champion of the International Boxing Federation and the World Boxing Association
A £200 million unification bout between Joshua and World Boxing Council champion Fury has been in the works for months, with a date of 14 August in Saudi Arabia set to be announced.

However, those plans received a big blow on Monday after a judge in the United States of America ruled that Fury must take on Deontay Wilder in a title defence bout before 15 September due to a clause in their contract.

Despite initial hopes that Wilder would accept to walk away from the fight for a handsome pay-off, the American appears determined to beat Fury in their third fight after failing the first two times.

Joshua will be forced to fight Ukrainian Usyk next if Wilder refuses to budge.

Sky Sports reported on Wednesday that the WBO has told Joshua he has just two days to ensure the fight with Fury is sealed or he must make plans to take on Usyk, the mandatory challenger.

Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk told Sky Sports: “The WBO is extremely happy as their mandatory challenger will be facing their heavyweight champion.

“What else can they desire? We are waiting for their approval letter!”