ANTHONY JOSHUA has picked Oleksandr Usyk to beat Tyson Fury... but hopes to be proven wrong.

AJ, 34, is preparing to face former UFC heavyweight king Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Friday night.

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Ngannou, 37, shocked the boxing world by pushing Fury all the way on his professional boxing debut in October, dropping The Gypsy King before narrowly losing a split decision.

Now Joshua is tasked with beating the MMA star in a more comprehensive manner as he eyes the winner of Fury-Usyk on May 18.

AJ has won his last three fights since suffering back-to-back defeats to Usyk in Britain and Saudi.

And while he believes his former opponent will get the better of Fury, he hopes his compatriot can get the job done to set up a blockbuster all-British fight.

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Speaking to , he said: "I think Usyk will win."

When pressed on who he wants to have their hand raised, he added: "It's a great question. Probably Fury, logically, because it's a bigger fight.

"Well, that's if he fights me, he always says he doesn't want to fight. But it's a bigger fight for me down the line if he wins.

"That's the only reason I would say Fury, for my own benefit. Very selfish reasons."

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Fury and Usyk were originally slated to fight for all four heavyweight belts in February.

But Fury sustained a cut above his right eye in sparring that has pushed the clash back by three months.

Meanwhile, Joshua has landed in the Middle East ahead of his clash with Ngannou on Friday.

And he bumped into Fury's dad John on Monday as the pair embraced and exchanged a few words.