Via Charles Brun: IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua will fight it in a rematch three months from now, on July 23. The venue is yet to be confirmed, but Saudi Arabia is being referred to where it is expected to take place.
ESPN reports that Usyk-Joshua II will take place on July 23, a little later than the boxing world predicted.
Fans want to see the rematch in June, but it won’t be the end of the world if they have to wait a little longer. Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) has a new coach and time working with him could be helpful.
The way Joshua looked at Usyk in that battle, AJ needs all the time he can get to figure out another game plan that might be useful for the rematch. Joshua’s mind was tormented by flashbacks of what Usyk had done to him.
Most boxing fans believe that Joshua needs to knock Usyk down at the opening bell and find a way to use his size and strength to get past the smaller man.
The problem with using that tactic was that if Usyk remained behind after four or five rounds, Joshua would run out of gas and would be easy prey.
Joshua needs to stay grounded and focus on the present instead of letting his mind replay memories of Usyk beating him at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in London.
Usyk has just left Ukraine, so he will need time to start training as he is defending his homeland from the Russian invasion.
Better for Joshua is the fight pushed to July because he has more time to put some distance behind and his loss was last September.
Joshua was outperformed in that fight by Usyk, who was way too good for him and surprisingly defeated him.
Had it not been for Usyk’s coach Anatoliy Lomachenko to tell him to box, he might have knocked Joshua out in round 12 when he was injured by a profile punch.
What’s interesting is that Usyk is just boxing, but he can still hurt Joshua with his punches. The final scores were 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113.
“Fortunately, I didn’t have a lot of war,” Oleksandr told Blockasset. “But what I saw and what I learned from my relatives and friends was horrible.
“Some of my friends are missing and we don’t know where they are. Many of my loved ones have lost their homes, their friends and loved ones,” Usyk said.
Many are suggesting that 32-year-old Joshua should drop his intention of rematching Usyk for now and focus on regaining his shattered ego by picking up three or four wins over cans of tomatoes.
The idea is that if Joshua can get into the habit of dancing oversized cans like he’s done before in his career, he could use it as a plan for a fight with Usyk. It might actually work for him.
Joshua should have listened to his fans for him to delay the Usyk rematch than bet the farm by stupidly rushing straight into it.
When dominated the way Joshua did against Uysk, it was hard to make all the necessary improvements as they headed straight into the second match without making two to four adjustments.
