Joshua Vs Usyk rematch in April

The Ukrainian southpaw won the belt from Joshua by unanimous points decision following the English boxer’s stoppage at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, last September.

Due to a rematch clause, Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs), 34, and Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs), 31, will square off next and the winner will be left to possibly negotiate a big fight with fellow division champion and rival Tyson Fury, the World Boxing Council (WBC) champion, for later in the year.

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn, who guides Anthony Joshua’s career, told reporters at a press conference on Friday, “I think April is realistic for that fight. Before you know it, it will be February and these fights require a lot of organization.” For us, the preferred date and venue for that fight will be the UK, in which case we would have to make the fight outside, so we’re not really interested in making that fight in March.

“AJ has been training relatively solidly since the fight. Realistically, if you start your training camp in February, even April gets pretty tight, but that’s the preferred date for the fight and I think that’s realistic.”

Usyk’s camp has said it wants to stage the rematch in Kiev, Ukraine.

But Hearn said, “We’ve had two or three offers from different countries to stage Joshua vs. Usyk, but for me, after the success of the Spurs home fight [in September], apart from the result, I’d love to do that fight in the UK, possibly at (Spurs Stadium) again or at Wembley, because I feel AJ should win. If we had the opportunity to stage the fight in the UK, we should do it, and if he can win that fight on that ground it would be very special.

“We have the ability to stage the fight wherever we want, but at the same time it has to generate enough money to know that we’ve done our job. Kiev is not the place to generate money, other places outside the UK will be considered. I don’t think the fight will be held in Kiev.”

Usyk hurt Joshua in the third round and nearly finished the English boxer amid a furious onslaught at the end of the twelfth round. A second professional defeat has prompted Joshua to review who trains him, having been guided by trainer Rob McCracken since his amateur days when he won Olympic gold in 2012.

Hearn said, “We really know where we’re headed from a training perspective and the set-up for the next fight. It’s not like we’re floating around not really knowing what we’re doing and AJ has been very meticulous in his approach to building that new team.”

“AJ made it clear when he said he would be working with a new trainer, and will it be in conjunction with Rob? I think that will be announced in the next few weeks.”

“If AJ didn’t make any changes and wasn’t comfortable with his approach going into the rematch, I feel like we shouldn’t take that rematch, but the fact that he’s been so proactive and positive and whatever path he takes, I know he’ll be comfortable with that decision. I’m much more at ease than I am with the other side of the coin, which is to quit. He needs something new.

Joshua’s English opponent Dillian Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs), whom he stopped in 2015, is waiting to find out if he will be in the opposite corner when Fury defends his WBC belt, which is said to happen on March 26.

The 33-year-old Jamaican-born Londoner is the official mandatory challenger for the WBC belt after exacting revenge on Russian veteran Alexander Povetkin in March last year. Fury stopped Deontay Wilder in a third fight in October to confirm his status as the best heavyweight in the world.

The Fury-Whyte purse bid is scheduled for next week, but Hearn said, “There are a lot of things going on legally behind the scenes with Dillian and the WBC. We’re not happy at all with the 80-20 split and now there’s a process we have to go through to object and that’s happening now.”

“There are really no negotiations going on for that fight because we have to get somewhere with the WBC, get to a place where we want to, rather than wait for another ruling. The danger is that Fury will box on March 26 and it won’t be against Dillian because the case is ongoing. But that’s just to put pressure on Dillian to take a bad deal. If it goes to auctions, a lot of people will bid, including us. I hope he delays. I don’t see how it can go ahead, with the arbitration case going on, but anything is possible.

“I absolutely believe the fight will go ahead, even at 80-20 and it’s not about the split for Dillian, it’s about the valuation of the fight and that will help us win the auction.”

DAZN will test the appetite for boxing on a Sunday, with Okolie (17-0, 14 KOs), 29, taking on Michal Cieslak (21-1, 15 KOs), of Poland, on February 27 at a UK venue yet to be confirmed. This date avoids a clash in a busy month for UK boxing, with rival promoter BOXXER already confirming Chris Eubank Jr-Liam Williams (Feb. 5), Amir Khan-Kell Brook (Feb. 19) and Josh Taylor-Jack Catterall (Feb. 26).

Okolie had a standout 2021 and looks to gain momentum this year, winning two world title fights, but will have to wait for a chance to unify titles at cruiserweight.

“It’s only a matter of time before Lawrence moves up to heavyweight, but first he needs to unify,” said Hearn, who believes a fight against rival world champions Mairis Briedis, Ilunga Makabu or Arsen Goulamirian is possible by the summer.

Hearn also confirmed that English welterweight contender Conor Benn could face one of former world champions Adrien Broner, Robert Guerrero or Maurice Hooker this year.

A mega-fight between Irish pound-for-pound boxer Katie Taylor and Puerto Rican Amanda Serrano, the Brooklyn-based seven-weight world champion, is also close to being confirmed for New York’s Madison Square Garden in April, Hearn said.