Eddie Hearn has confirmed that Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk have agreed personal terms ahead of their heavyweight title rematch, with the fight likely to take place on August 20th, in Saudi Arabia.
The fight had been put on hold after originally being planned for July, but, according to The Sun, Hearn has said the rematch is to be announced officially next week.
‘Thankfully I don’t have to say a couple of weeks anymore,’ said Hearn.
‘I can say next week 100 per cent you’ll get an announcement about that fight.
‘The paperwork is now taken care in full and we’re obviously get the press conference out of the way today, we’ve got a show in Mexico tonight.’
Hearn was dealt many possible venues for the rematch, with several US venues and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – where Usyk won the first fight – possible destinations.
But Saudi backers have won the race again, as they did when Joshua debuted there in 2019.
The two have been in talks over a rematch ever since the Ukranian defeated Joshua by unanimous decision back in September last year, and a deal has now been agreed for the fight to take place.
The rematch was delayed from the July date due to issues with the broadcasting rights.
Since 2015, Anthony Joshua has been the main pay-per-view attraction on Sky Box Office.
But after Hearn signed a billion dollar deal with sports streaming service DAZN in 2021, Joshua’s fights have been also been available to view on the app Stateside.
The 32-year-old had looked likely to sign a new deal with Sky when his contract expired follow the Usyk defeat, but it has since become more likely that Joshua will sign elsewhere.
Hearn confirmed that a decision has been made on where Joshua’s fights will be shown in the UK, with an announcement to come after the Usyk rematch is confirmed.
‘There’s the broadcast situation, which is like a soap opera in itself, and there’s been a lot of work which has gone on behind the scenes,’ said Hearn.
‘The competition has been fierce to secure the signature of Anthony Joshua and he’s made his decision on the long-term future of his broadcaster.
‘And that will be revealed post-announcement of the fight and everyone will get to hear.’
Source: Daily Mail
