Joshua vs. Usyk 2: Middle East a possibility to stage rematch

By Boxing News - 09/29/2021 - Comments

By Jeff Aronow: Eddie hearn says he’s received an approach to stage the Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 rematch in the Middle East. However, Hearn’s option is to bring it back to the UK, but he says he’s open to potentially staging it in Ukraine.

Hearn wants to stage the fight wherever it can bring in the most revenue. If that means Ukraine or the Middle East, he’s ready to take the Joshua vs. Usyk II fight there.

Last August, Hearn set up a lucrative deal with Saudi Arabia to bring the Joshua vs. Tyson Fury undisputed clash to that country. The fight fell through after Fury lost his arbitration case with Deontay Wilder in America.

If not for that, Joshua and Fury would have net for the undisputed heavyweight championship in Saudi Arabia, and both fighters would have raked in big bucks.

Oleksandr wants rematch in  Ukraine

Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) wants to fight in front of his fans in Kyiv, Ukraine, after dethroning IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) last Saturday night at the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in London, England.

Image: Joshua vs. Usyk 2: Middle East a possibility to stage rematch

As the new three-belt champion, Usyk understandably wants the rematch with Joshua to be in his home country.

Usyk went into London as the visiting fighter last Saturday, so it’s not surprising that he wants to be able to enjoy being the home fighter for the second clash.

Hearn prefers the UK for Joshua – Usyk 2 rematch

“No, I would go outdoors; I would certainly go outdoors in April. We’ve done it before,” said Hearn when asked if the UK won’t work for the Joshua vs. Usyk 2 rematch for early 2022. The Klitschko fight was in April.

“I would like to do the fight in the UK. I’m sure they [Team Usyk] would like to do the fight in Kyiv.

“I don’t have a problem looking at it at all. I have no problem going to Kyiv. We’ll look at the revenue that can be generated. Of course, the UK would be our first choice.

“We’ve already had approaches from the Middle East to do the rematch out there, but Saturday was pretty special.

“I know we didn’t get the win, but when I look back at the pictures, Jesus.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. AJ did that again. It’s all down to him, all down. There’s no one else can do it in this country,” said Hearn.

Usyk seems to feel that as the new WBC champion, he should be given the option to fight Joshua in front of his own fans.

However, it’s come down to the business side because there’s too much money that can be made in placing the rematch in the UK or the Middle East.

If the most can be made for the Joshua vs. Usyk 2 rematch in Ukraine, that’s where it’ll be. Hearn would probably prefer that Joshua fight in front of his British boxing fans because he needs to win this fight.

Usyk will be confident for the rematch

“Everybody has struggled during the pandemic, and AJ has had two fights in two years,” said Hearn. “He’s [Joshua]  never been active as he should be, but obviously this [pandemic] has slowed everything down.

“Probably the springtime, I think, and we’ll look at where, when and speak to Alex [Krassyuk], and Usyk will fancy the job. He’ll go, ‘Great; I’m going to make a fortune. I’ve just beaten him, and I’m going to beat him again.

“So, they’re all happy on cloud nine at the moment, and from our side, we’re starting to get back. We’re hatching a plan to be victorious in the rematch,” said Hearn.

After the way Usyk dominated Joshua last Saturday, he probably feels confident that he’ll be able to repeat the process in the rematch.

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