ANTHONY JOSHUA is in line to fight the winner between Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title.
Usyk shared 12 classic rounds with Fury on May 18 in Saudi Arabia to claim all four WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO belts.
And they prepare to rematch on December 21 back in Riyadh in what Saudi boxing kingmaker Turki Alalshikh hopes will be for all the titles again.
So AJ will instead return in September at Wembley with Daniel Dubois – fresh off a big win over Filip Hrgovic – the frontrunner for the stadium bout.
Dubois, 26, is expected to defend his IBF ‘interim’ belt and mandatory status for the full title now owned by Usyk, 37.
So the winner between Dubois and Joshua, 34, will be next in line for the belts with the WBC, WBA and WBO, behind in the queue.
And promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed to SunSport that a trilogy fight between Fury and Usyk – even if the score is levelled – is unlikely.
So it would clear the path for Joshua to challenge the victor for the belts if he beats whoever welcomes him back to Britain later in the year.
He said: “I expect the winner of the December fight to fight Anthony Joshua, if he wins in September.
“There’s no decision yet made on the opponent, there’s three or four in the mix. But yeah, that’s the absolute plan.
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“The first priority is to regain the world heavyweight title and obviously undisputed’s always been the dream.
“So I think we’re two fights away from becoming undisputed. But, we’ve got to win them.”
Standing in Joshua’s way first will be Dubois, who has vowed to “demolish” his fellow Brit.
‘I’ll demolish Joshua’
He said: “That’s what I’ve been hearing [that Joshua could be next], so let’s see.
“[Being world champion] is a dream.
“From challenging for the world title to getting the chance to win the damn thing outright, that’s what I want.
“I’ll demolish Joshua. I’ll get even better from here.”
AJ will not take his compatriot likely, and has said: “I’ve got to pick them off one by one. It’s not going to be easy, but that’s my mentality. So come one, come all…
“He [Dubois] has been in tougher fights, so he becomes hardened. He has worked his way up the ladder, we’ll see what happens in the near future.
“Wembley, O2, York Hall – wherever they put me, I’m happy to fight. Any venue, I’ll turn up and do my job.”
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