Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk - 25 September 2021

[margaret thatcher]

ya but bruh, dudes gotta enjoy the sweet yummy life at some point as a reward for all that hard work

maybe it could be part of the deal that the gold medal chocos arent awarded until retirement

[peter barlow]

Really hope this goes ahead as planned too many cancellations this year

[Ruthless-RKO]

Really hope this goes ahead as planned too many cancellations this year

Hearn is a clever man.

He has back ups, we will get a fight on this date. But yeh, it’s this actual fight you’re referring too.

Can’t wait to hear the first bell.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Bellew: Usyk is 'Best Natural Boxer' That Joshua Will Ever Face

Former two division champion Tony Bellew believes Oleksandr Usyk is the "best boxer" that Anthony Joshua is ever going to face in his career.

Joshua will defend his WBO, IBF, WBA, IBO titles against Usyk, a mandatory challenger, on September 25 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Bellew retired from the sport in 2018, after suffering a vicious knockout loss at the hands of Usyk.

Regarding his ability to pull off the upset next month, Usyk has been written off by a lot of critics.

Usyk unified the entire cruiserweight division in 2018.

He moved up to the heavyweight limit the following year.

The unbeaten boxer's run has not been as impressive since jumping to a higher weight class

Back in October of 2020, Usyk had a much tougher time than expected in winning a twelve round unanimous decision over division veteran Derek Chisora.

In terms of boxing skills, Bellew backs Usyk as being the best boxer that Joshua could step in the ring with.

But, that's not the same thing as saying Usyk will be the hardest fight for Joshua, says Bellew.

“I’ve been saying it. This is the best boxer he’s ever going to face in a boxing ring,” Bellew told IFL TV.

“The best natural boxer, without a shadow of a doubt. It’s not potentially his hardest fight because Tyson Fury’s potentially his hardest fight. But the best boxer he’ll ever face? Yes.

“For what he’s capable of doing, how good he is, how technically good he is, the arsenal of punches that he’s got. He’s outstanding as a boxer. Standalone, without a doubt. He won’t face a better boxer than him.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Rob McCracken rejoins the fold in Anthony Joshua’s training camp as he prepares for Oleksandr Usyk

With Olympic boxing officially wrapped up, trainer Rob McCracken will get back to work in the corner of Anthony Joshua as the unified heavyweight champion prepares for his upcoming title defense against mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk.

Earlier this year we reported on the scheduling conflict between McCraken and Joshua with McCracken serving as a coach for Team Great Britain which was running concurrent to Joshua’s training camp leading to this upcoming title fight. The Toyko Games are now finished though, and Anthony Joshua is eager to get his trainer back to work putting the finishing touches on his camp to have him as prepared as possible.

McCracken tells Sky Sports that he feels good about where Joshua is currently at and says they still have plenty of time to put in the necessary work together.

“He is doing fine, he’s where he needs to be. I’ll get back and there will still be seven weeks [before his fight], which is a long time in a 36-minute fight. We’ll get back, me and the team, the others [at Tokyo 2020] who work with AJ, so we can put the work together, get the sparring right, get the prep right.”

With McCracken now fully focused on Anthony Joshua’s task at hand, he’ll have to find fighters who can emulate Oleksandr Usyk’s southpaw style which won’t be easy consider Usyk is one of the very best technical fighters in the sport. Joshua will certainly have the size advantage, however, and we’ll just have to see if he tries to impose his physicality to offset the craft of the Ukrainian.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk live on DAZN, except in these nations

Anthony Joshua will fight Oleksandr Usyk live on DAZN as the streaming service confirmed over 170 countries would broadcast on their platform.

But there’s bad news for British and Irish viewers. They will still be expected to fork out Sky Sports Box Office prices bereft of the £1.99 DAZN fee.

Confirming the situation, a press released obtained by WBN revealed the details.

“DAZN has secured exclusive rights to the highly-anticipated Heavyweight showdown on Saturday, September 25 between reigning champion Anthony Joshua and former Cruiserweight World Champion Oleksandr Usyk in more than 170 countries and territories worldwide.

“They include all of North America, South America, and Oceania as well as much of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

“Unified Heavyweight Champion of the World Joshua will put his IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO World Titles on the line against pound-for-pound star Usyk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.”

Ed Breeze, EVP of Rights for DAZN, added: “We’re thrilled to continue our strong relationship with Matchroom, Anthony Joshua, and his team at 258MGT as the global home of boxing.

“This fight will be an all-out Heavyweight battle between two of the best in the division, live from a remarkable stadium in front of a full house of avid fans.

“The countdown is on, and we cannot wait to bring this epic clash to our subscribers around the world.”

A list of the places you cannot watch Joshua vs. Usyk is below:

United Kingdom (Sky Sports Box Office)
Ireland (Sky Sports Box Office)
Ukraine
France
Netherlands
China
Algeria
Bahrain
Chad
Djibouti
Egypt
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Libya
Mauritania
Morocco
Oman
Palestine
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Somalia
South Sudan
Tunisia
UAE
Yemen

Check local listings if not stated.

[margaret thatcher]

omg usyk grew and theyre the same height

[Ruthless-RKO]

Anyone gonna use VPN and watch on DAZN

[Ruthless-RKO]

David Haye: Joshua Will Knock Oleksandr Usyk Out With a Jab!

Former two division champion David Haye is backing Anthony Joshua to score a big knockout victory over Oleksandr Usyk.

Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, will challenge Joshua for his WBO, IBF, WBA, IBO heavyweight titles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 25.

Haye was managing the career of Derek Chisora last October, when the heavyweight veteran suffered a very competitive decision loss to Usyk.

At cruiserweight, Usyk captured every major belt and defeated all of the top players.

Haye himself was a unified cruiserweight champion when he made the decision to move up to heavyweight - where he eventually captured a world title.

Haye believes Usyk is too small, and has the wrong style, to overcome a big physical specimen like Joshua.

"I think his style might be very effective if AJ was 6'2" and 14st," Haye told Sky Sports.

"But AJ isn't. AJ is 6'6" and he's an absolute specimen, and he's one of the best athletes ever in the heavyweight division. That just spells knockout defeat for Usyk. If Usyk was the future of the heavyweight division and he's going to be good enough to beat AJ, he should have at least stopped Derek Chisora or won by a landslide.

"But he didn't. He wasn't able to keep the heavier man off him. He didn't have the firepower. I just don't see AJ having any problems. I'll tell you exactly what punch it's going to be - a jab, right hand and then a straight jab again. The jab will knock out Usyk. He will knock Usyk out with a jab.

"He may have as much skill as I have, he may have more skill than me. But he just doesn't punch hard enough to keep the big men at bay. You can be as fast as you want, but the speed isn't bothering the big guy. Usyk's power and speed didn't bother Chisora. To beat the big men, the big monsters at heavyweight, you have to have a big punch to get their respect, keep them off you. He doesn't have the firepower to keep the big men off him, so the big men are going to be on him when they choose to."

[DrDuke]

David Haye: Joshua Will Knock Oleksandr Usyk Out With a Jab!

So, it means, that in reality Usyk will outjab Joshua and no way Joshua wins by a KO.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[maverick23]

It’s crazy how Prasovic is somehow mandatory. He’s beat no one that would make him a deserving challenger.

The undercard is pretty poor….

Okolie vs Prasovic
Smith vs Castillo
Prodan vs Marku
A Campbell Hatton fight.

It’s a class main event though but I’d always rather have a good competitive British title fight on there like we had with Cheeseman/Metcalf on the Whyte PPV than a probably more expensive 1/70 shot In Callum Smith against Castillo.

[Ruthless-RKO]

It’s crazy how Prasovic is somehow mandatory. He’s beat no one that would make him a deserving challenger.

The undercard is pretty poor….

Okolie vs Prasovic
Smith vs Castillo
Prodan vs Marku
A Campbell Hatton fight.

It’s a class main event though but I’d always rather have a good competitive British title fight on there like we had with Cheeseman/Metcalf on the Whyte PPV than a probably more expensive 1/70 shot In Callum Smith against Castillo.

I know what yu mean. The main event is PPV worthy alone and most will pay for just that..

But some people are ready for a full nights card from start to finish.

[maverick23]

It’s crazy how Prasovic is somehow mandatory. He’s beat no one that would make him a deserving challenger.

The undercard is pretty poor….

Okolie vs Prasovic
Smith vs Castillo
Prodan vs Marku
A Campbell Hatton fight.

It’s a class main event though but I’d always rather have a good competitive British title fight on there like we had with Cheeseman/Metcalf on the Whyte PPV than a probably more expensive 1/70 shot In Callum Smith against Castillo.

I know what yu mean. The main event is PPV worthy alone and most will pay for just that..

But some people are ready for a full nights card from start to finish.

They’ll get a full night’s card. Just won’t be one of, on paper at least, good competitive fights (apart from the Marku one maybe).

There’s also Christopher Ousley vs Khasan Baysangurov which could be a fun fight.

[Boxerbeetle]

The undercard will be shit, but I’ll be buying this. Am a big critic of recent PPV generally because frankly it’s been used to flog substandard cards and fleece people. But Joshua v Usyk is undoubtedly deserving of PPV status.

[maverick23]

The undercard will be shit, but I’ll be buying this. Am a big critic of recent PPV generally because frankly it’s been used to flog substandard cards and fleece people. But Joshua v Usyk is undoubtedly deserving of PPV status.

Yeah - fully agree.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Anyone know the price? Are they sticking to £25?

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

Undercard Press Release

Heavyweight World Title showdown with Oleksandr Usyk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday September 25 have been confirmed.

The Heavyweight division’s biggest attraction puts his Unified crown on the line once more against former Undisputed Cruiserweight World Champion and pound-for-pound star Usyk live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and Ireland and on DAZN in over 170 countries and territories worldwide.

WBO Cruiserweight World Champion Lawrence Okolie (16-0, 13 KOs) puts his World Title on the line for the first time against his Mandatory Challenger Dilan Prasovic (15-0, 12 KOs) following his crushing sixth round stoppage of Krzysztof Glowacki at The SSE Arena, Wembley back in March.

By winning a World Title in just his sixteenth fight, the unbeaten 28-year-old from Hackney nicknamed ‘The Sauce’ emulated fellow Brits Tony Bellew, David Haye, Enzo Maccarinelli, Johnny Nelson and Carl Thompson who all previously held world crowns in the 200lb class.

Montenegro’s Prasovic, a former WBO Cruiserweight Youth World Champion, sits at No.1 in the world with the governing body having won all fifteen of his fights since turning professional in October 2014, with twelve of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Former WBA Super-Middleweight World Champion Callum Smith (27-1, 19 KOs) makes his highly anticipated ring return up at Light-Heavyweight against the Dominican Republic’ Lenin Castillo (21-3-1, 16 KOs) after his points loss to Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez out in Texas last December.

Manchester Lightweight prospect Campbell Hatton (3-0) continues his education in the professional ranks when he takes on Spain’s Izan Dura (3-7) hot on the back of his comfortable points win over Jakub Laskowski on the first week of Matchroom Fight Camp.

‘The Albanian King’ Florian Marku (8-0-1, 6 KOs) looks to build on his impressive stoppage win over Rylan Charlton on the Avanesyan vs. Kelly undercard in February as he challenges Milan’s Maxim Prodan (19-0-1, 15 KOs) for the IBF International Welterweight Title and unbeaten Chicago Middleweight Christopher Ousley (12-0, 9 KOs) meets Russia’s Khasan Baysangurov (21-1, 11 KOs) for the WBA Intercontinental Title.

[JamesPhilips]

Hatton. Oh dear. Imagine promoting a double world title bill by saying Campbell Hatton is on the undercard. I wonder how long his name will be promoted, without merit, at this level? I guess until he gets a half decent opponent and gets beaten. But they can't surely expect the public to keep interest with yet another points victory against a total no hoper?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Hatton. Oh dear. Imagine promoting a double world title bill by saying Campbell Hatton is on the undercard. I wonder how long his name will be promoted, without merit, at this level? I guess until he gets a half decent opponent and gets beaten. But they can't surely expect the public to keep interest with yet another points victory against a total no hoper?

They need to put him on regular shows..

[NoScoutingReports]

Very poor undercard, it has to be said.

[DrDuke]

Hearn has Bivol and Smith, he makes them fight with the leftovers of each other in about the same time.