On August 20 in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), British heavyweight Anthony Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) will try to get even with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) for a painful home defeat in September. WBA Super, IBF and WBO world titles are at stake.
WATCH FIGHT Usyk vs Joshua 2 ON DAZN
Show promoter Eddie HearnMatchroom Boxing) first
explained the reason for the delay: “An event of this magnitude, especially when it comes to a new location, always requires more time. I think that with the problems that Usyk and, of course, Ukraine had, we just needed a few more months. It’s great that we made it.”
Hearn recalled that “it was the only fight that Joshua wanted. He could also have an intermediate fight, but he is not interested, since all his thoughts are about becoming a world champion again, a three-time world champion. He also wanted revenge. It took a little longer to organize than expected, but here we are.”
For Joshua, it is already a habit to hold rematches in Saudi Arabia. In 2019, he defeated Andy Ruiz here. Hearn recalls: “You know, Covid has hit the boxing industry hard, including here in Saudi Arabia. In 2019, we wanted to seize the moment and planned to host a few more events here. We saw a huge hype, the popularity of boxing increased by 300%. But the pandemic has slowed it all down. So this fight is already a huge victory for Saudi Arabia.”
Meanwhile, the new coach of the Briton is sure that Joshua will beat Usyk and become world champion again. The fighter himself was going to “simplify” and so win, and the champion kept silent at a press conference.
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