By Charles Brun: Unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk says a venue for the rematch against former champion Anthony Joshua will be finalized within a couple of weeks in late June.
Saudi Arabia is reportedly under consideration for the Joshua vs. Usyk II rematch staging, which likely won’t make AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn too happy.
Hearn prefers that the second fight occur once again on British soil despite AJ losing to Usyk last September.
From Team Usyk’s standpoint, it makes sense to stage the rematch in a venue that will make the most money rather than catering to Joshua’s loyal fans.
Moreover, it’s only fair that Usyk fight at a location that is somewhat neutral, given that he soundly defeated Joshua last September in a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision at the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in North London, England.
“Within the next two weeks, we expect to finalize details,” said promoter Alex Krassyuk to Sky Sports News on the venue for the June rematch between unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.
“Late June is also the timing we are considering now. The good thing is that Usyk is already in Europe to start his preparation.”
Joshua fought in Saudi Arabia in December 2019, defeating a horribly out-of-shape Andy Ruiz Jr. to win back his IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight straps.
Interestingly, the crowd for the Joshua-Ruiz rematch in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, was largely pro-Joshua, cheering loudly for him every time he landed a shot.
You have to expect that we’ll see the same pro-Joshua crowd for the rematch with Usyk, as AJ is a tremendous worldwide superstar.
The only way you could have a genuine neutral crowd for the second fight would be to stage the rematch somewhere in Europe, where Usyk’s fanbase is located.
Joshua’s popularity is so high that it’s next to impossible to stage the fight in a venue where the crowd would be split in their support of the two fighters.
If Joshua loses the rematch, it could be career-over for him because that would be his third defeat in his last five contests, which would signal that things aren’t getting better for him.
Up until two weeks ago, Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) had been defending Ukraine, his country, from the Russian invasion. However, Usyk chose to take the rematch with Joshua.
Before that, Hearn had wanted to set up an interim fight for Joshua against possibly Otto Wallin, Joe Joyce, or Luis Ortiz.
Any of those fights would have been risky for Joshua, given the way he’s performed in his last four fights, and it’s a good thing for him that he no longer requires a warmup contest.
There’s got to be some mixed feelings on Hearn and Joshua’s part with Usyk’s decision to take the rematch in June.
On the one hand, they’re getting their original wish for the immediate rematch to try and right the wrongs from the first fight with Usyk.
On the flipside, Joshua now is faced with the reality that his career could be over if he loses to Usyk in June, particularly if he’s knocked out spectacularly.
There will be no coming back from a second defeat against Usyk, and it appears Joshua knows that. In hindsight, it was a mistake on Joshua’s part to activate the rematch clause to force a second fight with Usyk.
If Joshua had just let Usyk move on after his win, he’d likely lose his three heavyweight titles against WBC champion Tyson Fury, and the problem would be solved for AJ.
He could then have fought Fury, who he arguably matches up better against, and perhaps beat him. Joshua would have a better shot of beating Fury than he would Usyk due to the new brawling style that he uses.
