Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 2: What time is the fight, how to watch online and on TV?
Ukraine’s Usyk and England’s Joshua will face off in Saudi Arabia for the rematch bout that will define the legacy of both heavyweight champions
Current WBA (super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion Oleksander Usyk will defend those titles that he stripped from Anthony Joshua last September in a fairly convincing unanimous decision bout in the contracted rematch on Saturday, August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
This will be a legacy-defining fight for both men, with the Ukranian Usyk having dominated all competition at the cruiserweight level, being known as perhaps the best to ever lace up in that class. There were doubts that he could have such sway against the larger heavyweights, and although he has rocked a few opponents, Joshua included, he has done most of his work at heavyweight utilizing his speed and boxing nous. This fight will define his standing as a bona-fide heavyweight world champion.
For Anthony Joshua, the defining moment is in his rebounding skill and ability to switch tactics. Although a dominant puncher, the British champion has long been criticized as a straight-forward one-two puncher with little true boxing skill. Pounding his way through opposition, he was shocked by the hand speed of Andy Ruiz, coming back to reclaim his belts after that loss. He has shown that he can recover from big shots, climbing off the mat to beat Wladimir Klitschko, but now he is facing an altogether different beast in Usyk. A win would cement his place in the pantheon of all-time greats as a three-time world champion.
The action will begin at 12 p.m. ET or 5 p.m. in the UK/2 a.m. in Australia. The undercard features some tasty matchups as well, with Badou Jack facing Richard Rivera and Callum Smith taking on Mathieu Bauderlique. The appetizer for the main event will be another heavyweight bout between Filip Hrgovic and Zhang Zhilei in an IBF eliminator.