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Eddie Hearn has claimed that Anthony Joshua is more determined than ever to avenge his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk on August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Joshua suffered a 12-round decision loss to Usyk in September 2021 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Despite being the favorite going into the contest, 'AJ' was dominated by the Ukrainian and lost his WBA, IBF and WBO Heavyweight Championships.
Watch the full fight replay of Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk:
In a recent interview with DAZN, Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn expressed confidence in his client's ability to bounce back in the upcoming rematch:
"He's got that poker face, hasn't he? What you see from 'AJ' is sometimes not what's burning inside? I know him well enough, he's desperate to win this fight... He's the challenger, he's got that mentality but he knows what he's got to do. He openly admits now, 'I tried to box him in the first fight, it was a mistake.' He won't make that mistake again. He's shared 12 rounds with him, he's gotta make it count."
Watch the full interview:
Eddie Hearn states the rematch between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk was always going to happen
During the same interview, Hearn stated that there was never any doubt that Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk would fight again despite the war in Ukraine:
"Not really, it was a huge deal to put together. There was a lot of issues to overcome, particularly with the war in Ukraine, niggles and so forth. We're still off the back of COVID really. But we took our time, we got the deal done, we're happy with the deal and where we are... We look forward to a huge event."
The rematch between Joshua and Usyk was originally meant to take place in April. However, with the Ukrainian opting to fight for his country, the bout was delayed.
Another reason for a later date is the previous speculation that Tyson Fury would face Usyk for a shot at becoming the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. 'AJ' was offered a £15 million step-aside deal which he refused.
Watch Joshua shoot down claims that he took the £15 million deal to let Fury-Usyk happen:
Fury fought Dillian Whyte instead in front of a record-breaking 94,000 fans at the Wembley Stadium in April and scored a devastating sixth-round knockout. 'The Gypsy King' then retired from boxing. However, there are many who believe that he will eventually fight the winner of Usyk vs. Joshua 2.
