The highly anticipated heavyweight title unification rematch between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk will take place in August, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.
Hearn, the head of Matchroom Boxing, confirmed in a recent interview that Usyk-Joshua II will not be taking place on July 23 as generally thought. The heavyweight bout will reportedly be staged at the Jeddah Super Dome in Saudi Arabia. London’s Joshua will look to win back the WBO, WBA, and IBF heavyweight titles that he lost to Ukraine’s Usyk in their first meeting in September at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
Citing unfinished media and sponsorship deals, Hearn said he expects the fight now to land on either the 13 or the 20th of August.
“July 23rd was obviously the proposed date,” Hearn said on The DAZN Boxing Show. “We got to a point where we’re now less than seven weeks ago. We’ve got global media tours, you know, we’ve got TV rights to secure and international sponsorship deals. You’re going to see that fight in August. 13 and 20 are the two proposed dates.”
Hearn stated that an announcement is imminent and noted that the international press tour of the fight will begin later this month.
“We are literally signing the paperwork as we go in the last 24 hours, so you will get an official announcement pretty soon,” Hearn said. “The international media tour will commence June 20 or something like that. The fight is on. The fight is happening in the Middle East, looks pretty much set. I’ll save the exact titles for the announcement. We’re pretty much there now.”
Hearn, who has an extensive output deal with DAZN, the streaming platform, did not offer an answer as to whether or not the fight will be broadcast by the company. It was reported last month that Joshua was nearing a new deal with Sky Sports, the veteran British broadcasting company with which Hearn had a longstanding and exclusive relationship for many years before he decided to link up with DAZN. Joshua signed what was described as a “career-long” deal with Hearn last year.
“We will see that [broadcasting question] unfold shortly,” Hearn said.
The southpaw Usyk, 35, originally pulled out of an obligated rematch with Joshua, 32, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, after several weeks, Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) decided that he would be more help to his country defending his belts against Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) rather than being enlisted in the military.
