Rage on the Red Sea: Eddie Hearn confirms Anthony Joshua’s fight with Oleksandr Usyk WILL be in Saudi Arabia on August 20 as the British heavyweight bids for revenge against the unbeaten Ukrainian in a unified heavyweight title bout in Jeddah
- Anthony Joshua’s rematch against Oleksandr Usyk will take place on August 20
- Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed the scrap will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Joshua is bidding to win the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight belts
- The heavyweight lost the titles on points to Usyk in London in September 2021
Anthony Joshua’s bid to regain the world titles he lost to Oleskandr Usyk will take place on August 20 in Jeddah, promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed.
The rematch for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight belts will be billed ‘Rage on the Red Sea’, Hearn revealed in a tweet on Sunday tagging in Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Sport.
Ukrainian Usyk earned a dazzling win by wide decision to dethrone Joshua at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September 2021, and their second meeting will take place in an indoor venue to compensate for the searing local heat.
Anthony Joshua (left) lost to Oleksandr Usyk (right) at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in 2021
Hearn has defended the decision to hold the huge fight in Saudi Arabia amid mass scrutiny surrounding this week’s inaugural LIV Golf series event, insisting that boxing cannot be compared to other sports.
The lucrative new golf event has attracted elite competitors and a fresh debate around the issue of sportswashing, arriving in the wake of criticism when Premier League side Newcastle’s takeover by a Saudi-backed consortium was approved by the Premier League last year.
Joshua has already starred in a multimillion-dollar fight in the region, winning his belts back from Andy Ruiz Jr in a showdown dubbed ‘The Clash on the Dunes’ in 2019.
Matchroom Boxing boss Hearn also reiterated his staunch support for Joshua in his announcement, adding the hashtag ‘and the new’ — the words he hopes will ring out at the end of the fight to signal victory for the Londoner.
The 32-year-old faces a stiff task against an opponent he struggled to trouble in their first bout, adding Robert Garcia to his camp and leaving long-term coach Robert McCracken since the second defeat of his celebrated career.
More to follow
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