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Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk will battle for the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO and The Ring Heavyweight Championships on August 20 in Jeddah.
Joshua and Usyk first met in the ring last September at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. 'AJ' was comprehensively outboxed by the Ukrainian and suffered a 12-round unanimous decision loss. The Brit was also close to being stopped in the final seconds of the bout but was saved by the bell.
Usyk joined David Haye and Evander Holyfield as former Cruiserweight Champions who then went on to capture world titles at Heavyweight.
Watch the full fight replay of Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 1:
However, due to Tyson Fury's recent announcement, there is even more on the line in the Usyk-Joshua rematch. 'The Gyspy King' vacated his The Ring Title and has supposedly hanged up his gloves. Here's what Fury had to say:
"To be honest with you, and I've always said, I don't really give a f*** about what people think of me. I don't care how they remember me."
Check out Michael Benson's post:
Therefore, the winner of Usyk-Joshua will become the new The Ring Heavyweight Champion. Oleksandr Uysk is currently ranked number one and Anthony Joshua is number two.
What's next for the winner of Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk?
Whoever wins in the rematch between Anthony Joshua and Usyk will need one more belt to become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. Amidst apparent retirement the remaining WBC strap still belongs to Fury.
According to WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, 'The Gypsy King' will be given until August 26 to confirm his retirement with a written letter.
Hence, it is plausible that Fury could decide to fight the winner of Usyk-Joshua 2 in a bid to become the first Undisputed Heavyweight Champion since Lennox Lewis.
Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum is confident that the current WBC Champion will come out of retirement to cement his legacy. Here's what Arum said in a previous interview with Fight Hype:
"I think it's really he's on hold, pending the outcome of the Usyk fight with Joshua which takes place on the 20th...I know that deep down Fury would want to fight the winner."
Watch the full interview:
