ANTHONY JOSHUA and Oleksandr Usyk’s hotly-anticipated rematch is NOW finally in the diary after months of speculation.
Joshua and his Ukrainian counterpart had been due to do battle in May, but Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine put that on hold.
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35-year-old Usyk returned to his home country to join the fight against Russia, which began in February.
He has now returned to his training camp upon receiving permission to do so from Ukraine’s sports minister.
Usyk outpointed and largely outclassed a game Joshua in front of 70,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September to win the WBA, WBO, IBF & IBO world titles.
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.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn told The Sun earlier this month that his client is ‘baffled’ by the tactics used last year, and hinted at a change of gameplan for the rematch.
He said: “I was talking to him the other night and I think finally it’s baffled him why he fought like that.
“For a long time, he still felt even when he lost that he could still beat Usyk like that. But why when you don’t need to fight like that?
“He could fight in your old style and have a much better chance of beating him. Klitschko-style but Usyk is a tremendous fighter, a great counterpuncher.”
Hearn added that AJ “needs to be a lot more aggressive” this time.
The two sides have spent months negotiating a money-spinning deal for AJ’s second fight in Saudi Arabia, having beaten Andy Ruiz Jr on points in the oil-rich country in December 2019.
Joshua will also have a new training team, with the experienced Robert Garcia leading his corner while Angel Fernandez plays second-in-command.
When is Joshua vs Usyk 2?
- Joshua vs Usyk 2 will take place on Saturday, August 20.
- The fight is going to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
- Joshua last fought in Saudi Arabia in December 2019, with the fight beginning at 9pm UK time.
What channel is it and can it be live streamed?
- Joshua vs Usyk 2 will be shown on DAZN after the Brit left Sky Sports in a deal worth up to £100 million.
- It’s unclear how much the PPV will cost, with DAZN adding a pay-per-view arm to their model this year.
- DAZN costs £7.99 to subscribe to in the UK, with subscribers given unrivalled access to a host of big names including Canelo Alvarez and Ryan Garcia.
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Where will Joshua vs Usyk 2 take place?
The fight will take place in the Jeddah Super Dome.
The 40,000-seater stadium is the largest geodesic dome in the world to stand without pillars, and hosted the WWE Elimination Chamber in February.
Saudi Arabia has been a controversial host country, with the oil-rich nation accused of sportswashing after spending huge sums luring some of the world’s best golfers to their new LIV series.
Hearn, however, has dismissed any such comparison. He said: “He is not worried about any backlash because he has done it before.
“He will ultimately go, ‘Eddie over to you’. I am not going to pass the buck but it is very different when the deal is a 50/50 split. How can we go back to Usyk and say, ‘Let’s do it at Spurs’ because they will just say it is a non-starter.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
