Camila Sosa
The Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua rematch could take place in Saudi Arabia next June, according to information provided by Ukrainian promoter Alexander Krassyuk.
Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua staged a major heavyweight match on September 25 last year at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, in which Usyk took the victory by unanimous decision on points. In that bout, Usyk took the WBA, WBO and IBF belts, which belonged to Joshua.
Since then, the possibility of a rematch between this pair of boxers has been mentioned on several occasions, and now it seems that it will happen in this 2022, as the Ukrainian promoter told BBC Sports that “Saudi Arabia is the place we are in talks with at the moment”.
There aren’t many details, but Krassyuk mentioned a tentative date for the Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua rematch: “The end of June is the date we’re considering. Nothing has been confirmed on paper. We’re working on it.”
And although he said that Saudi Arabia was contemplated as the venue of the Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua fight, he also clarified that it is not the only place that could host the fight: “There are other options, but we are going step by step.”
Last Friday the Ukrainian boxer, world champion of the heavyweight category of the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO, announced on his social networks that he had decided to start with preparation to fight against Anthony Joshua.
“I decided to start preparing for a rematch with Anthony Joshua, a lot of my friends support me, all the rest of the good and peace, thank God for everything,” Usyk’s post quotes.
It should be remembered that Usyk was in the Ukrainian army supporting his country in the face of the Russian invasion, but requested a permit which was accepted and is now authorized to resume his activities.
Will Saudi Arabia Host the Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua Fight?
Should it be confirmed that Saudi Arabia will host the Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua rematch, there could be controversy. While the Middle Eastern country has been hosting top-tier sporting events in search of enhancing its reputation globally, the human rights issue is well known.
The use of the death penalty, the imprisonment of women’s rights activists, the punishment of same-sex relations and the military intervention in Yemen could be considered sufficient grounds to believe that Saudi Arabia is not the best venue for an event of this magnitude, despite the fact that Formula 1 has decided to keep the Jeddah circuit on the calendar, in which last weekend the second Saudi Arabian GP in the history of motorsport was held.
