The heavyweight champions rematch between Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua will take place and here is what we need to know.
British boxer Anthony Joshua activated the clause to fight Oleksandr Usyk few hours after losing his title to the Ukrainian in September.
The former heavyweight champions felt his pride has been stepped upon wants is honour restored as soon as possible.
The former unified world cruiserweight champion outclassed Anthony Joshua in their first fight with his smart moves and fighting style.
The question remains if Joshua will be able to reclaim his title from Usyk or it will end in tears from the British boxer.
The British has been in the same situation when he lost his belt to one his fight Andy Ruiz jr in their first fight.
Joshua made sure he got prepared for the fight and then reclaimed his belt in an incredible style for the first time.
After almost 11 months of the clash between the British and the Ukrainian at the Tottenham Hotspurs stadium the world will be ready to watch the two settle it in the ring.
Summary of the boxers
Oleksandr Usyk won gold at both the World Championships in 2011 and then the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He took him just ten pro fights to win the WBO cruiserweight title from Krzysztof Glowacki.
The Ukrainian established himself as a pound-for-pound elite with an epic run through the World Boxing Super Series gauntlet, handing Marco Huck, Mairis Briedis, and Murat Gassiev losses in their respective backyards en route to being the undisputed king of the division.
In his last fight in cruiserweight, he wrecked Tony Bellew in England to successfully defend those titles.
Usyk’s heavyweight debut in 2019 was supposed to be against Tyrone Spong, but when Spong failed his drug test in stepped a way overmatched Chazz Witherspoon, who was stopped without much resistance. A tougher but still one-sided fight against Dereck Chisora ensued, setting up the showdown with Joshua in September 2021. It was a terrific atmosphere at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, and in the end Usyk won the fight with a unanimous decision triumph.
Joshua also won Olympic gold in 2012 and there was no denying he was one of the best heavyweight talents to come along for quite some time. He turned pro the following year and embarked on a path of destructive knockouts, with his highest profile non-title fight coming against amateur rival Dillian Whyte in 2015.
Joshua outclassed Whyte and knocked him damn near out of the ring. His 2016 consisted of winning the IBF heavyweight title against Charles Martin, followed by easy title defenses against Dominic Breazeale and Eric Molina.
Joshua came into limelight after an epic fight with Wladimir Klitschko, in which he overcame a knockdown to eventually KO Wladimir into retirement.
After beating Joseph Parker he became the holder of the WBA, IBF, and WBO titles, with only Deontay Wilder in possession of the other major belt.
Joshua suffered his first lost to Andy Ruiz Jr in his United States debut back in 2019. The KO loss is one of the great upsets in recent boxing history. He prevailed in the rematch later that year, winning a safe decision.
Prior to the Usyk loss, Joshua took care of Kubrat Pulev by TKO in front of a limited capacity crowd in England.
The Usyk fight may have been a loss but it wasn’t a total blowout. There were rounds Joshua clearly won and he was able to land some of his best punches on the Ukrainian, but it was hard to ignore that the pace, body work, and volume that Usyk set created problems for Joshua in the latter stages of the contest.
Joshua has since changed trainers with the hopes of unlocking the combination to topple Usyk.
Prediction
We can not dispute the fact that Anthony Joshua still remain one of the best fight in the heavyweight class present and known for his strength, height and punch power Joshua can knock out Usyk.
On the other hand, Usyk has the best work rate between the two and with style and brilliant tactics Usyk can retain the title.
It is a very difficult match to predict and we can only say the best man will win the fight.
