Alexander Krassyuk, the promoter for IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs), states that the rematch with Matchroom Boxing promoted former champion Anthony Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) will be finalized with a venue in two weeks time for late June.
The location of the Joshua vs. Usyk 2 rematch appears to be heading towards Saudi Arabia, which ensures that it would make the most amount of money.
Joshua fought former IBF/WBA/WBO champion Andy Ruiz Jr. in Saudi Arabia in their rematch in December 2019, and the event went well for AJ. He made a lot of money and won back his three titles.
There will obviously be some boxing fans that will grumble about the Joshua-Usyk 2 rematch taking place in Saudi Arabia, but at least it’s happening. That’s the main thing.
Joshua wants to avenge his embarrassing loss to Usyk, and he and his loyal boxing fans believe a victory is possible.
A year ago, Saudi Arabia was where the Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight had been planned to take place. Unfortunately, the fight never happened due to Fury taking the Deontay Wilder clash instead.
“Within the next two weeks, we expect to finalize details,” said Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk to Sky Sports. “This location is under discussion at the moment. Late June is also the timing we are considering now.
“The good thing is that Usyk is already in Europe to start his preparation,” said Krassyuk.
Can Joshua beat Usyk?
“I think with the right tactics, Joshua has the capabilities of winning the fight against Usyk, I do. With the right game plan and the right preparation,” said Ben Davison to TalkSport Boxing when asked if Anthony Joshua can win the rematch against Oleksandr Usyk.
“Do I think he’s going to win? Probably not, but I’d love to see him win. I’d love to see him win because I’d love to see that fight,” Davison said about wanting Joshua to beat Usyk so that he could see the undisputed clash between AJ and Tyson Fury.
“This is the thing. Every time we talk about Tyson Fury, my answer is, ‘I don’t know because he’s so versatile that we don’t know how he’s going to approach the fight.
“When all of this is going to put Wilder on the back foot, everybody was thinking, ‘Nah, you’re not going to do that,’ but he went and done it. We’ve seen him box southpaw on the back foot, and we’ve seen him box orthodox on the back foot.
“He’s so versatile. What a brilliant inside fighter for a man of that size,” said Davis about Fury.
“I can’t make a case for Joshua beating Fury,” said Simon Jordan. “Can you make a case for him beating Fury?”
“Anything can happen in the heavyweight division, and Joshua is not bad on the inside. He’s strong, good, good at midrange, carries power throughout his combinations, and he’s always dangerous because obviously, he can punch.
“But I think if Tyson goes about the fight with the right mindset, I think obviously.
“Everyone is in for a shout,” said Davison when asked if Fury can beat Dillian Whyte. “It’s so easy to overlook a fighter who is on the run.”
“Do you give him a chance? Stop padding. Do you reckon Dillian Whyte can beat Tyson Fury because I don’t?” said Jordan.
“Is he capable of winning? Yes. Do I think he’s going to win? No,” said Davison. “But Dillian Whyte has a catch-counter with his left hand, and can that put any heavyweight asleep? Of course, it can. Is he capable of winning, of course,” said Davison in giving Whyte a shot at beating Fury.
“Business decision,” said Davison when asked why he’s no longer working with Fury. “At the time, he wanted to make some changes, and I had other fighters approaching me that wanted to work with me. It just made sense for us to part ways.
“One thing very important to me is you often see fighters and coaches part ways and that relationship becomes sour. You can always see it no matter what they say and they might say nice things about each other but deep down, they don’t want to see each other succeed.
“When one of them fails, the boot always gets put in, but with me and Tyson, that’s never the case. I want to see him succeed, and he wants to see me succeed. We still speak to each other.
“We’re forever grateful for what we’ve done for each other because it was a swing, swing both ways type of relationship, and both done fantastic things for each other.
“I always want to see him have success as a great fighter,” said Davison about Fury.
