Usyk / Joshua 2 site deal around $80M in Saudi Arabia

By Boxing News - 06/21/2022 - Comments

By Barry Holbrook: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua 2 site deal is a reported whopping $80 million to stage their rematch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The Daily Star is reporting the $80M deal for the Usyk-Joshua II rematch, surpassing the $60 million site deal for Joshua’s rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr. in December 2019 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

Joshua’s fans have been left out in the cold with his rematch being staged in Saudi Arabia because many of them won’t be able to make the trip to see the contest live.

But perhaps it’s for the best because Joshua has a high chance of losing to IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Usyk, and it’ll save the fans the aggravation of watching their hero AJ get beaten live.

The $80 million is a new record for a site deal, but that figure will likely be surpassed if Joshua defeats Usyk and Tyson Fury comes out of retirement to face AJ.

It’s difficult not to believe that contest won’t wind up in Saudi Arabia as well because that’s where the money is for the big fights.

If Usyk wins the rematch with Joshua, it’s unknown if Fury will be enticed to return to the ring because he’s talking about wanting a ridiculous amount of money to continue his career.

Some boxing fans believe Fury’s high asking price is a way for him to dodge fighting Usyk. In other words, asking for an absurd amount of money gives Fury a way out of having to fight Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) should he defeat Joshua again.

To escape criticism for ducking Usyk, Fury can tell the media that his asking price of $500 million wasn’t met. But in reality, Fury didn’t fancy his chances of beating the talented Usyk, who would be a nightmare for him due to his mobility, high energy, and face pace style of fighting.

Fury has become slow and sloth-like since packing on a bunch of weight since 2020. Some of the slowness in Fury’s game is his age, but another part is his decision to fight in the 270+ lb region.

“It’s not hard to hit Usyk because he stands right in front of you, so Joshua can obviously land a big punch on him,” said Tyson Fury to Gareth A Davies when asked if Anthony Joshua can beat Oleksandr Usyk in the rematch.

“I just think Usyk is too cute for him, too smart and too quick and a southpaw,” Fury continued. “I think that with Robert Garcia trying to train him [Joshua] to go on the front foot and be aggressive will only enable Usyk to land more often on him.

“I just think Usyk is too good of a boxer, and I don’t think AJ has got the ability to pressure him for 12 rounds and drag him into a dog fight and knock him out. You have to be an elite, special human being for that, and I don’t think Joshua possesses that will to win,” said Fury.

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