Oleksandr Usyk picks winner of Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury after going 24 rounds with them

Oleksandr Usyk has had his say on who would win a possible super-fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua – and his answer is surprising.

The Ukrainian defeated Fury for the second time on Saturday night in a masterful display at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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In May, the judges were split on who they thought won the inaugural encounter.

Two judges scored the fight in Usyk‘s favour by margins of 115-112 and 114-113, while the third judge had it for Fury 114-113.

In the ninth round, Usyk caught Fury on unsteady legs with a heavy flurry and scored a standing eight count.

There was no such dramatic moment in their second fight, although Usyk was in greater control this time.

Particularly towards the back end of the fight where his stamina and mental fortitude really began to show.

In the end, Usyk got his hand raised via unanimous decision with all three judges in agreement over the scoring (116-112, 116-112, 116-112).

It spelt an end to his rivalry with Fury, who is now on a collision course to face British rival Joshua in a long-awaited domestic dust-up.

Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh told reporters after the fight that he wants to make the Usyk vs Daniel Dubois rematch if ‘Triple D’ can beat Joseph Parker on February 22.

Meanwhile, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority has Fury vs Joshua at the top of his boxing wishlist as well.

Usyk has now spent 48 rounds in the ring with the heavyweight titans and has beaten both men twice.

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Asked who he thinks will win if they end up squaring off next, Usyk told Boxing King Media: “Maybe it is Anthony Joshua.”

Pressed on whether AJ could get it done inside the distance, he replied: “I don’t know, maybe it is points. I don’t know.”

Usyk’s prediction may come as a surprise to many fans considering he has freely admitted Fury was his toughest opponent to date.

Unlike Fury, Usyk was able to deal with Joshua convincingly – even if the second fight was somehow declared a split decision.

Joshua was recently knocked out by Dubois in September.

Several members of the boxing fraternity believe the Watford powerhouse no longer has the punch resistance to hang with the upper echelons of the glamour division.

Yet Usyk is backing him against the weight classes’ consensus number two.