Anthony Joshua Denies Reports He Accepted Step Aside Money To Allow Fury-Usyk

Anthony Joshua has denied reports he accepted step aside money to allow Tyson Fury to box Oleksandr Usyk next.

After Joshua lost to Usyk back in September, he triggered the immediate rematch clause but there has been no date has been confirmed about the rematch. But, recently, there was a report Joshua agreed to step-aside money and Eddie Hearn confirmed he was meeting with Joshua to discuss his future.

“I’m meeting with AJ and 258 management [on Tuesday] to go through plans for his next fight. We have a number of proposals and options to discuss,” Hearn said. “The goal remains the same of course – to re-capture the world heavyweight crown.”

Shortly after the news came out that Joshua was taking step-aside money, he took to social media to deny the rumors he took the step-aside money.

“You know what’s mad about all these interviews I see? I see certain interviews that quote what I said and I think to myself: ‘I haven’t done no interviews.’ I’m hearing people saying: ‘AJ accepts £15m to step aside’. I ain’t signed no contract; I ain’t seen no contract. So as it stands, stop listening to the bullshit until it comes from me. I’m the man in control of my own destiny, I’m the man that handles my business. I’m a smart individual and I make calculated decisions every step of the way. Don’t listen to the bullshit from other sources. If I tell you something then you know it’s real.”

Anthony Joshua is just 2-2 in his last four as he suffered a stunning TKO loss to Andy Ruiz back in June of 2019 which was his first career loss and he lost his heavyweight titles. He then had a rematch in December where he won by decision to reclaim his belts. The Brit then followed that up with a KO win over Kubrat Pulev but then suffered a dominant decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk.

What do you make of Anthony Joshua denying he took the step-aside money?