ANTHONY JOSHUA lost the defence of his unified world titles to master boxer Oleksandr Usyk last September – but now AJ wants revenge.
Just like the Olympic gold medallist did after his loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, Joshua wants to right his wrong by facing the Ukrainian in a rematch.
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)
Usyk outpointed and largely outclassed a game Joshua in front of 70,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year to win the WBA, WBO, IBF & IBO world titles.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn admitted after that his client boxed nowhere near to the ability he would do in a potential rematch.
AJ, meanwhile, said the fight was a learning experience in the post-fight news conference, vowing to gain his vengeance on Usyk.
Since then, the two sides have been negotiating toward a huge money-spinning sequel, but offers for Joshua to step aside to allow an undisputed clash with Tyson Fury has delayed the process.
Fury, however, will fight mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte next, leaving Usyk and Joshua to fight once again.
Joshua is also on the search for a new trainer, having trialled American coaches Robert Garcia, Virgil Hunter, Ronnie Shields and Canelo Alvarez’s trainer Eddy Reynoso.
“I need to go and get some new teachings from guys that have trained – Robert Garcia trained 13, 14 world champions,” Joshua told iFL TV.
“They’ve got so many generations of teachings. Virgil Hunter trained Andre Ward, a phenomenal fighter.
“I need to go and get some new teachings from guys that have trained – Robert Garcia trained 13, 14 world champions. They’ve got so many generations of teachings.
“Virgil Hunter trained Andre Ward, a phenomenal fighter. I wanted to go around and be in an environment of fighters.
“Eddy Reynoso, ‘No boxing, no life.’ I love that saying. Canelo is obviously a phenomenal fighter. I watched him spar 12 rounds, asked certain questions.
“Ronnie Shields, another African American coach who has worked with the greats.”
When is Joshua vs Usyk 2?
- Joshua vs Usyk 2 has yet to be confirmed with a concrete date.
- Promoter Hearn has previously touted March or April as potential months the rematch could take place.
- But Joshua has yet to start camp with a new trainer and it’s more likely a fight with Usyk takes place in May or June.
- That would also open up the opportunity for Joshua vs Usyk 2 to take place in an outdoor stadium in the UK.
What channel is it and can it be live streamed?
- Joshua’s last fight with Usyk with shown live on Sky Sports Box Office for a price of £24.95.
- It’s unclear which channel the rematch will take place on, but expect Matchroom’s broadcast partners DAZN to bid aggressively for the rights to the fight in the UK.
- DAZN costs £7.99 to subscribe to in the UK, but the streaming service are likely to add a pay-per-view arm to their model this year.
Where will Joshua vs Usyk 2 take place?
Hearn has previously claimed the fight will be held in another open-air UK stadium.
“It’s very likely to happen in the UK, but we’ll sit down and look at the options,” he said after the fight.
“There will be approaches to do it elsewhere. (But) after Saturday, the pluses and minuses of Saturday, I mean, have you ever seen anything like that? How good was it? Have you ever seen anything like that?
“So I’d like to do it in England again. Maybe at Spurs, maybe at Wembley, maybe at the Emirates. They’ll be approaches to do it elsewhere but I don’t see any reason to take it outside of England.”
There are also likely to be approached from the Middle East for the fight, with Saudi Arabia having held Joshua’s clash against Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019.
Usyk said in the post-fight news conference he was eager for the second fight to be held in the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine.
“I would love to have the rematch at Olympiyskiy Stadium in Kiev,” said the new unified champ.
