"Joshua priced himself out" - Frank Warren on why Anthony Joshua's step-aside deal fell through

Anthony Joshua has finally put to bed any sort of discussion that he will be stepping aside to allow Tyson Fury to fight Oleksandr Usyk. The promoter of 'The Gypsy King' has weighed in on the massive decision by 'AJ'.

The head of Queensberry Promotions has been in talks with the former two-time heavyweight champion's camp for several weeks now. While it first seemed likely that Joshua might step aside, the deal seemingly fell apart in the final stages, according to recent reports.

The promoter joined Dev Sahni on The Unibet Lowdown to discuss Joshua's step-aside situation and give him his take. According to Warren, the reason the deal fell apart is that 'AJ' priced himself out. He added that the Usyk fight is the only one left for the former champion at this point.

Warren said:

"Well, Joshua priced himself out. The demands he was making, I think that was the straw that broke the camels' back as far as Tyson [Fury] was concerned. I think he's got nowhere else to go, what else is he going to do? That's the [only] fight out there for him."

Watch Frank Warren discuss Anthony Joshua's situation below:

It ended up being a win-win situation for Warren even with Joshua not taking the step-aside deal. Following 'AJ' confirming that he won't step aside, Fury reaffirmed that he was going to fight WBC Interim Heavyweight Champion Dillian Whyte.

The Fury vs. Whyte bout had a purse bid earlier this week. Frank Warren and Queensberry Promotions won the bid, for a staggering $41 million, the largest purse bid in boxing history.

---

Anthony Joshua is expected to fight Oleksandr Usyk later this year

Anthony Joshua headed into his September 2021 showdown with Oleksandr Usyk as the favorite. However, in a massive upset, the British heavyweight lost to the Ukrainian via unanimous decision.

Despite a dominating loss on the cards, Joshua stayed committed and activated his rematch clause. A rematch was quickly planned for April this year. However, Joshua decided to leave his longtime trainer Robert McCracken after the Usyk loss.

It was this change in training that led many to believe that 'AJ' would need longer to prepare for a potential Usyk rematch. While Joshua was on the hunt for a trainer, his management began discussing a possible step-aside deal for the former champ.

However, the deal fell apart. Despite all the starts and stops, Anthony Joshua is right back where he was last September. He is now once again expected to face Oleksandr Usyk for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO Heavyweight titles.

While there's no date yet set for the massive rematch, fans can expect details of the bout in the coming days.