ANTHONY JOSHUA is bidding to become a three-time world heavyweight champion when he takes on Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia tonight.
The 33-year-old Brit lost to his Ukrainian rival by unanimous decision at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September.
Now he is set to meet former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk again in a highly-anticipated rematch in the Middle East.
Once both men walk into the ring, their teams will step out of the ropes and only three individuals will remain – Joshua, Usyk and referee Luis Pabon.
But who is the official who will take charge of this mouth-watering clash?
Well, Puerto Rican official Pabon is no stranger to a Joshua bout.
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He was also up close and personal with AJ the last time he went to Saudi Arabia to try and reclaim his belts.
On that occasion, back in December 2019, Joshua beat Andy Ruiz Jr by unanimous decision with an impressive boxing display – albeit against an overweight and undertrained Ruiz.
Pabon let the fight flow as Joshua picked apart his Mexican opponent in a clash which had no controversy whatsoever.
Joshua and Usyk will be hoping for much of the same from the referee on Saturday night.
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The three judges for the contest have also been announced.
They are American Glenn Feldman, Briton Steve Gray and Ukrainian Viktor Fesechko.
When the first fight went to the cards, all three saw it in favour of Usyk – 115-113, 116-112 and 117-111.
Fesechko was one of the judges for the first fight and scored the bout the widest of the three officials – handing in the 117-111 card.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
