United heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk will place his IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO world titles against Anthony Joshua in the coastal city of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday, August 20 and LIVE on DAZN.
One of the biggest heavyweight rematch in the sport’s history, Usyk vs. Joshua 2, called ‘Rage on the Red Sea’, will take place almost three years from the historic ‘Clash on the Dunes’ event at Diriyah Arena. saw Joshua reclaim his Heavyweight crown against Andy Ruiz Jr.
Oleksandr Usyk, Unified Heavyweight World Champion:
“Good afternoon Saudi Arabia. First of all, I want to thank everyone who made it possible for us to fight in Saudi Arabia here. Prince Khaled, thank you very much. It’s very important to me, my team, my country and I’m really happy to be here. This is not my first time to Saudi Arabia. I feel like I will stay here again and again.
“We learned from each other in the first game, but this is a continuation and the first round on Saturday will be round 13. We had enough time to get to know each other. We’re born to fight for life, for belts, everything. Those who don’t fight, those who don’t win. All of our lives are competitions for something or someone. That’s why we are competitive. We’ve had enough time to get to know each other and this Saturday is going to be a great, great battle.”
Alexander Krassyuk, promoter of Oleksandr Usyk:
“Dear guests, it is an honor for us to be here and to be hosted by Saudi Arabia. Many thanks to Prince Khaled and the entire team at Skill Challenge Entertainment for the tremendous work that has been done over the past few months.
“When we watched the video of Usyk from the training camp, we realized that he looked like a robot. He’s been through hell in training camp for the past three months. It didn’t kill him but it made him even stronger. I have never seen him more determined than now. Not many champions in the world can share the experience of going through the fight and stepping into the ring to defend their Heavyweight crown. It was an extremely complicated challenge for him, but he seemed to have overcome it.
“He made the decision to rematch in these circumstances after receiving overwhelming support from his Ukrainian compatriots. He contacted senior military officers and he visited hospitals with wounded soldiers. In every conversation, he hears blessings and support for a rematch. Everyone wants him to fight. People still want him to win. People want the Ukrainian flag to rise, people want the Ukrainian national anthem to be heard across the planet. There are not many men in the world who can offer this to millions. Usyk can do that. He does it through the sport of boxing.
“From my mouth it wouldn’t be fair if I started talking about how good this man is, as I have been his promoter for perhaps over nine years. So let history judge how good this man was. I wish good luck to both boxers. Let the groomsmen win.”
Egis Klimas, manager of Oleksandr Usyk:
“Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for having us here in this beautiful country, Saudi Arabia. I can’t explain my feelings for what I’m feeling here – everyone. how friendly the people were and how warm we felt.It was unbelievable.We look forward to coming back if possible/
“I want to thank Prince Khaled for putting this together. I want to thank Skill Challenge, Matchroom and K2 for finding a way to tackle things together. Of course it was a bit bumpy as always but we made it.
“When it comes to Oleksandr Usyk, I am proud to represent him. I can tell you, I’ve never seen anyone in 45 degrees ride a 100km bike ride. I have never seen anyone swim the day before a press conference in London for 10km in a pool for 5 hours. I have never seen anyone hold their breath underwater for four minutes and forty seconds, almost dying. I hope all this helps him on Saturday night. Thank you, we will see you again on Saturday night.”
Anthony Joshua, former unified heavyweight world champion:
“Thank you to everyone in Saudi Arabia. My friends, my team up front has Prince Khaled, Skill Challenge and his family as well. First of all give a shout out to everyone for taking care of us while we are here. That’s it. It was a ‘must win’ war. The preparation process was difficult, but I liked the pressure. Robert Garcia, Angel Fernandez, my former team members; they pushed me, challenged me, made sure I stayed focused and positioned me to get the job done and win next Saturday night.
“This is what competition is all about; set goals I want to achieve and be disciplined enough to stick to them. It’s competition with myself. As you mentioned with belts, they mean something but that’s all on the target end. It’s not like I’m skipping the process. I focus on this process.
“I’m looking forward to it. I want to compete. I’m looking forward to it. I can’t really say much but you have to have a competitive spirit. I’m prepared to do whatever it takes and I am looking forward to playing this weekend.”
Robert Garcia, Anthony Joshua’s coach:
“It was a wonderful experience. It was great to be here in Saudi Arabia. Everyone was so nice, and the hospitality was amazing. The team did their job, Angel Fernandez, me and the rest of us. The champion did what he had to do, we were ready, we were ready to do it. It was a challenge to lose and force him to execute the game plan and execute it. did it during training.Finally the job was done.. Anthony followed the instructions.On Saturday night we were going out with those belts.I think he was at his peak. at the right time. This week has been pretty easy for him. He’s happy and he’s smiling at everyone. He doesn’t have any problems. It’s a good sign that things are going. going in the right direction. The training camp was amazing, the participating partners did a great job. We are ready to bring those belts home.”
Eddie Hearn, President of Matchroom Sport:
“This is the Unified World Heavyweight Title between the two giants of boxing. It’s not bigger than that. Oleksandr Usyk; an Olympic gold medalist, number one pound, former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion and current Unified Heavyweight Champion.
“Anthony Joshua; also won an Olympic gold medal, became a Heavyweight Champion at the age of 16order fight, unify the division before 90,000 compatriots at the age of 19order fighting, and has changed the face of the sport all over the world. Two great boxers, two great athletes, champions and ambassadors of the sport that people in Saudi Arabia and around the world can be inspired by. It’s been an incredible week and the best is still to come. “
