It is looking likely that Anthony Joshua will have to contest his world heavyweight title rematch with Oleksandr Usyk abroad this summer rather than in the UK. Last September, AJ lost his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles to the Ukrainian, who comfortably outclassed the former champion to win via decision.
The Brit’s promoter Eddie Hearn wants the rematch to go ahead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – where their September bout was fought – as he believes a home crowd in London could inspire Joshua to victory. However, complications appear to have risen.
Saudi Arabia have reportedly made a site offer which could potentially generate twice as much revenue as staging the bout in north London. On top of that, Hearn revealed Usyk would prefer to fight on an international stage.
“If contracts and site fees that have been offered come to fruition, it would make going to the UK very difficult for us to get Usyk to do, quite frankly,” the Matchroom Boxing boss told Mirror Sport. “We can see it from their point of view, ‘why would I bother going back to England for half the money?’.
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