Promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed that Anthony Joshua will defend his WBA Super, WBO and IBF heavyweight crowns against Oleksandr Usyk on September 25.
The bout will take place at Tottenham Hotspur’s state-of-the-art stadium in North London.
Joshua, of course, had been set to clash with WBC and Lineal champion Tyson Fury before Deontay Wilder enforced a contracted trilogy fight with the ‘Gypsy King’ via arbitration. Instead, Joshua must wait his turn and face WBO No.1 contender Usyk in the interim.
During months of negotiations, a confident Hearn had maintained that Joshua-Fury was on the brink of being finalised “in two weeks” just about every fortnight before the fight collapsed.
The promoter poked fun at himself in announcing the Joshua-Usyk fight date on Instagram Live.
“Joshua vs Usyk announcement, don’t want to say two weeks as you guys are bored of me saying that,” said Hearn, “September 25 is the date.”
Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) is a 2/5 favourite with Betfred whilst former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs) is available at 2/1. The draw is 25/1.