The highly anticipated rematch between Champion Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua finally has a date.
The fight between the two for the WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles will take place on August 20th in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Usyk (19-0, 13 KO) upset Joshua (24-2, 22 KO) when the pair last met in September 2021 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London taking all of Joshua’s belts after having already unified the Cruiserweight division.
Joshua will enter the fight with a new trainer, hiring Robert Garcia for his rematch with Usyk.
The oddsmakers are favoring the Ukrainian with him currently entering the bout as a -215 favorite over +175 for the Englishman.
The rematch between the two was immediately called for but Usyk was called to serve in the military during Ukraine’s ongoing war against Russia. He was given a special exemption from his duties to defend his belts.
“What a roller coaster journey, fighting for the heavyweight championship of the world for the 12th consecutive time,” said Joshua. “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” Joshua said.
“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.”
Usyk simply stated, “I have a goal, with the help of the Lord I will complete my mission!”
Although not brought up by anyone yet, the winner of this rematch will surely go on to challenge Tyson Fury in an attempt to unify the heavyweight division.
