Via Barry Holbrook: Advertiser Eddie Hearn says he is now “Almost certainly” that the highly-anticipated rematch between IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and former triple belt champion Anthony Joshua will take place in June after the Ukrainian talent’s team said they were ready to take part. competition.
Hearn said he will be speaking with Usyk promoter Alex Krassyuk tonight and this weekend to finalize the match and date + location for the rematch.
Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) has been busy defending his home country Ukraine against a month-long Russian invasion. 2012 Olympic gold medalist Usyk has decided to leave his country to start training for the rematch.
Hearn said this week that the end of June is the deadline for the Joshua-Usyk II rematch, and if that doesn’t happen, Joshua will take a break to keep fit in the meantime.
Usyk will rematch
Given the huge split in terms of money and prestige for the rematch, Usyk, 34, makes perfect sense as it’s an ideal situation for him.
Usyk’s second win over Joshua will give him a chance to take on WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury for the undisputed championship title later this year.
“I’m almost certain this fight takes place in June,” Eddie Hearn said to iFL TV about the rematch Joshua vs. Usyk 2. “I have a lot more calls with Alex Krassyuk this evening and this weekend where we start to finalize the date and location, but we got to the point where we said, ‘we need to know.’
“It seems decisive was given that this fight would take place in June. We are on the moon, and I believe Usyk will move into camp soon to begin preparing for this battle,” the information continued about the Joshua – Usyk II rematch.
Will Joshua retire if he loses?
Not only Usyk in this fight but especially with Joshua will have a lot of impact. Former No. 1 heavyweight boxer, Joshua, has lost two of his last four fights, and he cannot accept another defeat if his career is to come to a screeching halt.
With Joshua’s fierce warrior spirit and pride, he may not be able to swallow another defeat at the hands of a smaller boxer than Usyk, and he will most likely retire after that.
To be fair, if Usyk humiliated Joshua by knocking him out in their rematch in June, the former 6’6 ″ champion would call it a day. Joshua has had a great run during his nine-year professional career and has much to be proud of. He can revel in what he has done in his successful career and live well with the report $80 million that he created.
“I can confidently tell you that as of yesterday or any other day, we were told that they [Team Usyk] want to progress with the fight and move forward.
“Really, in the next two weeks, the boxers will want to go to camp. Watch them go to training camp, and watch them give everyone the biggest battle of the year,” Hearn said.
As you can see, Hearn is delighted with the news that Usyk has chosen to rematch with Joshua. Let’s hope for Hearn’s sake that he remains as optimistic as ever if Joshua is defeated again.
It won’t be the end of the world for Hearn if Joshua is defeated again, but obviously, he will have some key questions to ask himself about who he will replace him with.
Conor Benn doesn’t seem to be the guy, as Hearn hasn’t shown the confidence to take on him against a world-class opponent.
