ANTHONY JOSHUA and Oleksandar Usyk’s on-off re-match has been put back again – but promoters are honing in on a confirmed date.
Usyk has been given the green light from Ukraine’s sports minister to have his second fight against AJ, following Russia’s disgraceful invasion of his home country.
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The fight had been plunged into doubt with Usyk joining the military in the defence of his home country.
All parties understood the situation – there are, after all, bigger things in the world than boxing.
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 year 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.
Since then, the two sides have been negotiating toward a huge money-spinning sequel, but offers for Joshua to step aside to allow an undisputed clash with Tyson Fury has delayed the process.
Fury, however, will fight mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte next, leaving Usyk and Joshua to fight once again.
Joshua is also on the search for a new trainer, having trialled American coaches Robert Garcia, Virgil Hunter, Ronnie Shields and Canelo Alvarez’s trainer Eddy Reynoso.
When is Joshua vs Usyk 2?
- Joshua vs Usyk 2 has yet to be confirmed with a concrete date – although it is understood to be in July.
- According to reports, the new date is set to be July 23 – but this is unconfirmed.
- But Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine had thrown the entire bout into doubt with Usyk involved in the war effort, but he has told ministers he wants to get into a training camp for the bout.
- That would also open up the opportunity for Joshua vs Usyk 2 to take place in an outdoor stadium in the UK.
What channel is it and can it be live streamed?
- Joshua’s last fight with Usyk with shown live on Sky Sports Box Office for a price of £24.95.
- It’s unclear which channel the rematch will take place on, but expect Matchroom’s broadcast partners DAZN to bid aggressively for the rights to the fight in the UK.
- DAZN costs £7.99 to subscribe to in the UK, but the streaming service are likely to add a pay-per-view arm to their model this year.
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Where will Joshua vs Usyk 2 take place?
Hearn has previously claimed the fight will be held in another open-air UK stadium.
He said after the fight: “It’s very likely to happen in the UK, but we’ll sit down and look at the options.
“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.”
There are also likely to be approached from the Middle East for the fight, with Saudi Arabia having held Joshua’s clash against Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019.
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.
Usyk said: “I would love to have the rematch at Olympiyskiy Stadium in Kiev.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
