Anthony Joshua has not ruled out a third encounter with Oleksandr Usyk, despite training alongside the Ukrainian ahead of his next outing.
The two heavyweights first squared off in 2021, back when Usyk became a two-weight world champion by unanimously outpointing and dethroning ‘AJ’.
Their immediate rematch then ended in a split decision defeat for Joshua, who gave a stronger account of himself but ultimately failed to reclaim his belts in 2022.
Since then, their careers have looked vastly different, yet now they train under the same roof as Joshua prepares for his clash with Kristian Prenga on July 25.
The 36-year-old will return to action in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, following his sixth-round finish over Jake Paul in December.
This is also his first outing since being involved in a tragic car crash that same month, when two of his closest friends lost their lives in Nigeria.
The carrot being dangled, meanwhile, is a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury, which is set to take place in either the UK or US towards the end of this year.
At the same time, though, Joshua has told Ring Magazine that he thinks it would be ‘amazing’ to facing Usyk in a trilogy bout, which could potentially be explored if he emerges victorious against Fury.
“Usyk? It’s up to him. But I think it would be amazing, respectfully. It’s just friendly competition. Before, it was different – there was real animosity – but now it’s just friendly competition.”
While Joshua has expressed his interest in reclaiming a world title, it remains to be seen whether Usyk will even be competing, let alone still hold a belt, by the time their possible clash can be considered.