ANTHONY JOSHUA IS set to face Oleksandr Usyk on 25 September, Eddie Hearn has confirmed.
Joshua, the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight title holder, was due to have an all-British heavyweight showdown with Tyson Fury this summer but a legal ruling in the United States derailed a proposed fight in Saudi Arabia on 14 August.
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An arbitration hearing upheld a claim from fellow heavyweight Deontay Wilder that he was contractually owed a third fight with WBC champion Fury, with Joshua then labelling his countryman a “fraud” on Twitter.
It means Joshua will now face Usyk in September, while Fury will take on Wilder to complete a trilogy of fights between the two on 24 July. Victory for both Britons would set up an undisputed-title bout.
“Joshua v Usyk announcement, don’t want to say [I'll announce it in] two weeks as you guys are bored of me saying that,” Hearn said on Instagram live.
“25 September is the date.”
Usyk, 18-0(13KOs), is the former undisputed cruiserweight champion and, like Joshua, won Olympic gold at London 2012. The 34-year-old is coming off the back of a points win over Joshua’s fellow Briton, Dereck Chisora.
Joshua-Usyk is likely to take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Joshua set to face Usyk in September, confirms Hearn
ANTHONY JOSHUA IS set to face Oleksandr Usyk on 25 September, Eddie Hearn has confirmed.
Joshua, the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight title holder, was due to have an all-British heavyweight showdown with Tyson Fury this summer but a legal ruling in the United States derailed a proposed fight in Saudi Arabia on 14 August.
An arbitration hearing upheld a claim from fellow heavyweight Deontay Wilder that he was contractually owed a third fight with WBC champion Fury, with Joshua then labelling his countryman a “fraud” on Twitter.
It means Joshua will now face Usyk in September, while Fury will take on Wilder to complete a trilogy of fights between the two on 24 July. Victory for both Britons would set up an undisputed-title bout.
“Joshua v Usyk announcement, don’t want to say [I'll announce it in] two weeks as you guys are bored of me saying that,” Hearn said on Instagram live.
“25 September is the date.”
Usyk, 18-0(13KOs), is the former undisputed cruiserweight champion and, like Joshua, won Olympic gold at London 2012. The 34-year-old is coming off the back of a points win over Joshua’s fellow Briton, Dereck Chisora.
Joshua-Usyk is likely to take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
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