Hulking heavyweight pugilists Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua came face-to-face on Tues. (June 21) at the conclusion of the kickoff press conference for their upcoming championship rematch, recently made official for Aug. 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Usyk and Joshua first went to war last Sept. in London, with the undefeated “Cat” (19-0, 13 KOs) winning the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO titles by way of unanimous decision. Fortunately for Joshua, their championship contract came with an immediate rematch clause.
“I am entering a new phase in my career with a new training environment, new coaches and now a new broadcaster,” Joshua said (via ESPN). “Negotiations at this level take time, so I am pleased to have it all wrapped up and now I can fully focus on giving the fans and DAZN what they want — knockouts in the glamour division.”
The 32 year-old Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) recently parted ways with longtime trainer Robert McCracken and will now prepare under the tutelage of Robert Garcia for his DAZN debut, having previously competed exclusively for Sky Sports.