Usyk-Joshua heavyweight title rematch finalized for Aug. 20 in Saudi Arabia
"Rage on the Red Sea" will take place in Jeddah
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The rematch between three-belt heavyweight titleholder Oleksandr Usyk and former unified titlist Anthony Joshua has officially been scheduled.
After June 25 and July 23 were initially penciled in, the bout will take place on Aug. 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn announced on Sunday.
The venue in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, a popular resort area, was not announced nor were the broadcast arrangements for the fight in either the United Kingdom or the United States — even though Joshua declined to re-sign with career-long broadcaster Sky Sports in the U.K. and finalized a long-term agreement with DAZN last week.
The reason for no broadcasters being mentioned in the announcement, according to sources, is because the Saudi group putting up the millions of dollars to host the fight secured the broadcast rights as part of the deal which they will in turn sell.
The fight will come 11 months after the 2012 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist and former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk traveled to Joshua’s hometown of London and convincingly outpointed 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 in an upset on Sept. 25 in front of a pro AJ crowd of 66,267 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“I have a goal,” Usyk said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “With the help of the Lord I will complete my mission.”
Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs), 32, the 2012 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist, who will go into the fight under the guidance of new head trainer Robert Garcia, had more to say.
“What a roller coaster journey, fighting for the heavyweight championship of the world for the 12th consecutive time,” said Joshua, who invoked his contractual right to an immediate rematch soon after the loss last year. “I won the belt, unified the division, won another belt, lost the belts, became two-time unified heavyweight champion and now have my date with history set to become three-time unified heavyweight champion of the world. What an opportunity.
“Fighting championship level back to back has had its pros and cons, but I decide every day to get stronger, to learn from my experiences and grow. A happy fighter is a dangerous fighter and I am the happiest and most motivated I have been. Thank you to the organizers, to 258MGT, Matchroom Boxing and to all the boxing fans across the world, with a special shout out to the Ukrainian fans who have been through a really tough time.”
Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs), a 35-year-old southpaw, initially delayed the rematch because he joined a territorial defense battalion defending his home country of Ukraine against the unprovoked Russian invasion before electing to leave the country to train.
“The rematch is on the way. The fight will be much bigger and more spectacular than the first,” said Alexander Krassyuk, Usyk’s promoter. “It is new history in the making. Being a part of this event is a huge honor. Our country (of Ukraine) is now fighting for its heritage. Our mission is to expand its legacy.”
Usyk and Joshua will meet at a kickoff news conference in Jeddah on Tuesday. A London news conference will also be scheduled.
“We are thrilled to get one of the biggest heavyweight rematches in boxing history made and give Anthony Joshua the chance to reclaim what he lost in London last September,” Hearn said. “Everything is on the line for this unified world heavyweight championship bout and it could not be a bigger contest. We know Oleksandr Usyk is a great fighter and we saw that last time out, but I know Anthony Joshua is more determined than ever.”
Billed as “Rage on the Red Sea,” the fight will be Joshua’s second in Saudi Arabia. In December 2019, a group put up tens of millions to host Joshua’s rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr. in Diriyah. Joshua handily outpointed a severely underprepared Ruiz to regain the unified title six months after Ruiz scored an upset seventh-round knockout to win them in New York.
“It was a huge success to host Anthony Joshua’s contest with Andy Ruiz Jr. in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2019 and we are looking forward to working with the country again to stage this historic event,” Hearn said. “So, no doubt, all eyes of the world will be on the ring come Saturday, Aug. 20th. This is a story of redemption, and the countdown starts now.”
Jeddah has hosted big-time boxing once before. In September 2018, the final of the World Boxing Super Series took place at the King Abdullah Sports City, where Callum Smith knocked out George Groves in the seventh round to win the WBA super middleweight title in the final of the eight-man tournament.
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A lot of people make money besides the fighters on a fight of this size and signifigence well to me anyhow it is an important fight. Lot of directions to go to hype this fight many that are real. A lot of people make out in other areas and directions as well but that is politics I suppose. It sure is capitalization in a big way. Nothing new in all those areas, fights have always been part Patriotic sometimes it is really true to fight for your country. Neither is an American but there are connections to the American public at large and to the fight fans as a whole is damn large and should grow as the fight creeps closer to the actual date. I will keep my comments clean at this point....... Thanks for the inside dope once again F.F.U. appreciated.
The thought of a boxing event in Saudi is wrong for so many reasons, not least that one of the biggest fights of the year will be devoid of atmosphere. On this occasion I think Usyk intends to give his entire purse to Ukrainian aid. So I guess it deserves a pass.