Anthony Joshua has played down suggestions that he is ready to take step-aside money to allow a heavyweight unification bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.

Since Joshua lost his IBF, WBA and WBO belts to Usyk in September, promoter Eddie Hearn has maintained that the Briton would take his contractually-agreed rematch with the Ukrainian.

However, four months have now passed without a decision being made, and any issues have coincided with a delay in agreeing a clash between WBC champion Fury and mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte.

A report on Monday claimed that Joshua was on the brink of accepting a £15m fee to give the green light for Fury and Usyk to square off in the Middle East.

While the prospect of that scenario appears far more likely than it previously did, Joshua has taken to social media to blast the insinuation that it was already a foregone conclusion.

Any decision is expected later this week with purse bids scheduled to take place between the teams representing Fury and Whyte.