Matchroom Boxing boss has confirmed that the Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 rematch has been “all agreed” for July, and the only thing left is to finalize the date & location for the contest. Without two weeks, the fight will be finalized,” says Hearn.
July 23rd in Saudi Arabia is believed to be the date and the location for the Joshua-Usyk rematch.
It’s a fight that former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) is looking forward to because he needs to avenge the loss to Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) to show that he’s still an elite-level fighter in the division.
The way Joshua has looked in his last four fights, having lost two of them, you can argue that he’s no longer an elite heavyweight.
Indeed, AJ’s losses to a flabby Andy Ruiz Jr. and the undersized heavyweight Usyk showed that he’s on the downside of his career and would be food for some of the other contenders in the weight class.
“The fight’s all done; it’s all agreed,” Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn said to talkSPORT about the Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk rematch.
“It’s 100% Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk the rematch,” Hearn continued. “We’re finalizing the location at the moment, his team is in London this week, so we’re going to sit down with them,” Hearn said.
Hearn has been adamant about his desire to stage the Joshua vs. Usyk rematch in London, England, the exact location as the first fight last September. Team Usyk feels differently, of course.
They want the rematch to take place in the country that will pay the most money to stage it, and it appears that Saudi Arabia is the likely destination for the contest.
It shouldn’t matter to Joshua & Hearn where the fight is staged. If Joshua lacks the talent to win, he’s not going to be any better off if the rematch occurs in England again.
It worked against Joshua last time staging the Usyk fight in the UK, as each time AJ’s British fans started screaming after he’d land a shot, it worked against him, as it motivated Oleksandr to go on the attack. This was never more apparent than in the 12th round when Joshua landed some nice shot early on.
The crowd noise woke up Usyk, who went on the attack, nailing Joshua with repeated headshots that had him on the verge of a knockout as the bell sounded to end the contest.
“I think in two weeks’ time we’ll finalize the date. It will be July,” said Hearn of the Joshua-Usk II rematch. “And hopefully AJ can become a three-time heavyweight world champion,” said Hearn.
