Anthony Joshua: record, next fight and profile →
Anthony Joshua has promised to bring the fight to Oleksandr Usyk when they collide for a second time on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia. Usyk outboxed Joshua over twelve rounds to capture the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight titles last September at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The latest retirement announcement by Tyson Fury has prompted action by his last remaining tie to the sport. It also significantly impacts the importance of three relevant heavyweight fights all scheduled within the next nine weeks. A two-week deadline has been issued by the World Boxing Council (WBC) for Fury to confirm in writing his official status in the sport. The unbeaten lineal/WBC heavyweight champion from Morecambe, England by way of Manchester recently went public with his insistence that he is forever done with the sport, the declaration coming on his 34th birthday last Friday.
Ben Whittaker is already making for lost time. An opponent was confirmed for Whittaker's heavily speculated placement on the undercard of this weekend's Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua rematch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The charismatic 2020 Olympic Silver medalist from Birmingham, England will take on former amateur rival Peter Nosic in a six-round light heavyweight contest.
Alexander Krassyuk can appreciate the seriousness with which Anthony Joshua is approaching his chance to become three-time heavyweight champion—the promoter just has a hard time seeing how the British star can actually defeat Oleksandr Usyk.
Anthony Joshua should be quite proud of the career he’s had. He’s an Olympic gold medalist. He’s won 24 of 26 pro bouts and 22 by knockout. And he’s a two-time heavyweight champion with seven successful title defenses. But he’s got a big date coming up.
By Corey Erdman - Oleksandr Usyk is about a difficult puzzle to solve as there is in boxing today. The kind of conundrum inside the ring that can make an opponent not just second guess what they’re doing in the moment, but rethink their approach entirely after having spent twelve rounds trying to figure him out.
Eddie Hearn, promoter of Anthony Joshua, believes Tyson Fury's most recent retirement is nothing more than a publicity stunt to take away from of the shine from Joshua's upcoming rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
There is finally an answer to the weeks-long question of how U.S. boxing fans can watch the Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua rematch. DAZN confirmed stateside distribution rights, announcing Sunday that a deal was officially reached to carry the anticipated unified heavyweight title fight. The sports streaming platform was the frontrunner to land the event but was forced to sit on the news until all lingering matters were resolved which finally came this weekend.
Former world champion Amir Khan walked away impressed when he watched Oleksandr Usyk training in Dubai for the upcoming rematch with Anthony Joshua. Usyk will defend the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight titles against Joshua on August 20th in Saudi Arabia.
Oleksandr Usyk is the unified heavyweight champion, and although the Ukrainian has a monumental rematch ahead of him on Aug. 20 against Anthony Joshua, he’s looking forward to future fights against all comers – and at all weights.