ANTHONY JOSHUA lost the defence of his unified world titles to master boxer Oleksandr Usyk – but now AJ wants revenge.
Just like the Olympic gold medallist did after his loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, Joshua wants to right his wrong by facing the Ukrainian in a rematch.
Usyk outpointed and largely outclassed a game Joshua in front of 70,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last weekend to win the WBA, WBO, IBF & IBO world titles.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn admitted after that his client boxed nowhere near to the ability he would do in a potential rematch.
AJ, meanwhile, said the fight was a learning experience in the post-fight news conference, vowing to gain his vengeance on Usyk.
When will Joshua vs Usyk 2 happen?
Though Joshua vs Usyk was months in the making and over in 36 minutes, we’re already talking about a rematch between the pair.
As is the standard practice with all AJ fights, the Brit has a rematch clause inserted into his contract should he lose, just like he did with Andy Ruiz Jr two years ago.
And Joshua comfortably lost to Usyk, who solidified himself as an all-time great with his win on Saturday night.
Usyk won the undisputed titles at cruiserweight and is just Tyson Fury’s WBC belt away from doing the same at heavyweight, a feat which would be unmatched by anyone in the sport’s long history.
But Joshua will get the chance to win his belts back, according to Eddie Hearn, who believes next February or March would be an appropriate tine to deliver the sequel.
“He has got the chance in February or March of next year to become the unified world heavyweight champion,” Hearn told iFL TV.
“Forget that he lost it yesterday (Saturday), that is the opportunity that has presented itself and that is a blessing. So we take that with both hands.”
Where will Joshua vs Usyk 2 take place?
Despite Hearn’s claims that a rematch can take place in February or March, he suggested open-air stadiums as venue options for the fight.
“Very likely to happen in the UK, but we’ll sit down and look at the options,” he added.
“There will be approaches to do it elsewhere. (But) after Saturday, the pluses and minuses of Saturday, I mean, have you ever seen anything like that? How good was it? Have you ever seen anything like that?
“So I’d like to do it in England again. Maybe at Spurs, maybe at Wembley, maybe at the Emirates. They’ll be approaches to do it elsewhere but I don’t see any reason to take it outside of England.”
Usyk said in the post-fight news conference he was eager for the second fight to be held in the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine.
“I would love to have the rematch at Olympiyskiy Stadium in Kiev,” said the new unified champ.
But Hearn also said: “We will work together to maximise (the income), Ukraine is very unlikely.
“I think it will be international or the UK, I would think it would be in the UK.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
