There is a surprise addition to the Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua 2 undercard on August 20.
Talksport had reported that former World Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champion Badou Jack has landed a fight on one of the biggest sporting events of 2022.
Earlier today, on his official Twitter page, Jack confirmed the news.
Alhamdulillah we’re back at it on August 20th in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 on the undercard of @anthonyjoshua Vs @usykaa@BadouJackPromo 🥊 pic.twitter.com/qcAJ4IIItD
— Badou Jack (@BadouJack) July 18, 2022
The Swedish born 38-year-old, who now fights at Cruiserweight, will face Richard Rivera in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia as he looks to continue his quest to become a three-weight World Champion.
Jack’s last two fights have come in Dubai with wins over Samuel Crossed and Hany Atiyo, respectively.
In a professional career that started 13 years ago Jack took a while to build a name for himself. That all changed when he defeated Anthony Dirrell to become WBC Super Middleweight champion in 2015.
He soon became a fan-friendly fighter with thrilling battles against Brits George Groves and James DeGale.
Rivera, who has the memorable nickname of ‘Popeye the Sailor Man’, will have to eat plenty of spinach to defeat someone like Jack. The 31-year-old from Connecticut is unbeaten in 21 fights but has never fought in a 12-round contest and has faced no-one near the level of his next opponent.
There are two more fights rumoured for the Usyk-Joshua 2 undercard, both of which are World Title final eliminators.
- Callum Smith v Mathieu Bauderlique – WBC Light Heavyweight
- Filip Hrgovic v Zhilei Zhang – IBF Heavyweight
Oleksandr Usyk v Anthony Joshua 2 will be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK.