Shannon Briggs: We Might Have To Get Ready For Deontay Wilder vs. Oleksandr Usyk

Most boxing fans are assuming an Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight will eventually happen. But Shannon Briggs isn’t holding his breath.

Joshua and Fury were set to meet in a heavyweight title unification until Deontay Wilder got his way and is now set to face the latter in a trilogy fight set for July.

Joshua, meanwhile, is likely to face WBO mandatory Oleksandr Usyk next. Should both fighters come out on top, we can still see Joshua vs. Fury at the end of the year.

However, Briggs – a former heavyweight champion himself — has warned the boxing world that Wilder and Usyk can derail all the plans for that domestic clash.

“Don’t sleep on Wilder,” Briggs told Sky Sports. “Throughout the history of the boxing world, he is a freak of nature. He could crack anybody and knock them out with his power. We don’t know what he will come with in this fight.

“He might shock the world. Fury might have the wrong idea. If this guy knocks out Fury, then what? It is possible. Will there be a fourth fight? Fury can’t sleep on Wilder. With those skinny legs he shouldn’t hit that hard. But he hits sickly hard. It isn’t normal to hit that hard. But he can’t fight backing up.”

Briggs even went as far as saying fans should expect a fight between Wilder and Usyk in the future.

“The fight to get ready for is Usyk vs Wilder! We might have to get ready for that,” Briggs added before talking about Usyk specifically. “Tough, tough, tough fight. A guy like that? Who can work like that? He is a king-sized Vasiliy Lomachenko!

“As the rounds go on, he gets stronger. The best chance for AJ is to catch him early. AJ is strong early, Usyk is strong late. This is a dangerous fight, a tough fight. This Usyk is different, man. This is AJ’s toughest fight – equally as tough as AJ vs Fury. If the ring is big, he will be hard to catch. He gets stronger as the rounds go on so, what happens is, he starts pushing you downhill.

“He has work rate and he’s southpaw. He can sneak shots in. He has so much energy, he throws so many punches which aren’t all hurting you, but it’s the punches that you don’t see. His condition goes up and up, and he runs you into the ground.”

It would certainly be something if that was the case.