Oleksandr Usyk's Camp: Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua Can't Unify Belts in 2020

Oleksandr Usyk's manager, Egis Klimas, has said he will not let Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua unify their heavyweight titles in 2020 but will instead demand the mandatory shot at A.J. if the Ukrainian beats Dereck Chisora on May 23.

Per Sky Sports' James Dielhenn, there is speculation Fury and Joshua could push for a unification bout once they take care of their next engagements, against Deontay Wilder and Kubrat Pulev, respectively.

Klimas said that is not possible if Usyk insists on his mandatory shot, however, and that's exactly what he'll do. He also said he believes Joshua wants to fight Usyk next:

"They can't. How can they do that?

"Right now, we have to win [against Chisora], then after the mandatory fight for the WBO has to happen.

"I believe Anthony also wants this fight. Good fighters want to fight good fighters. Anthony sees a good challenge in Oleksandr and wants to go there. Everybody says Oleksandr will give Anthony problems, but Anthony believes the opposite so wants to show that he is stronger.

"In the UK would make sense―it wouldn't make sense to go to the States with one boxer from the UK and one from Ukraine. The UK fans know Usyk."

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Joshua holds all of the major heavyweight titles, with the exception of the WBC belt. That belongs to Fury, who is also the lineal champion after beating Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.

Fury is expected to complete his trilogy with Wilder after the latter used a clause to force a third fight. He lost their second meeting in February.

Joshua is fighting Pulev, another mandatory challenger, on June 20. With all major heavyweight players likely fighting just ahead or during the summer, there is space for a major bout toward the end of 2020.

Usyk's willingness to fight Joshua on enemy soil should not come as a surprise:

The Ukrainian was the undisputed and undefeated cruiserweight champion before moving up to heavyweight and stopping Chazz Witherspoon in his debut in the division. He's already familiar to British boxing fans after knocking out Tony Bellew in his last outing as a professional.

An Olympic gold medalist at heavyweight in 2012, Usyk presents a unique challenge in the division because of his relentless punching volume and unorthodox style. He's relatively untested against the biggest fighters in the sport, however, and Chisora will be a real test for the 33-year-old.

Chisora is unbeaten in his last three fights and has shown solid durability over the last few years, with just one stoppage loss since 2014. He has stopped his last two opponents.