March 26, (THEWILL) – In a recent Instagram post, Ukrainian heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, announced that he was training for a rematch against former champion Anthony Joshua.
As THEWILL previously reported, Usyk returned to Ukraine to assist in the defence of his homeland against the Russian invasion, which temporarily put plans of a rematch on hold. Now, the 35-year-old’s team has resumed preparations for that bout with Joshua.
The Brit had activated a rematch clause after losing his belts via unanimous decision at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September.
Moves to finalise negotiations were put on hold as Usyk returned to Ukraine to assist his fellow countrymen, but the champion confirmed his resolve to return to the ring against Joshua in a video posted on his social media account on Friday.
Usyk said in the video: “I’ve decided to start preparing for a rematch with Anthony Joshua.”
The undefeated Ukrainian went into greater detail in the 42-second video about his reasons for redirecting his emphasis to a rematch with Joshua, highlighting the support he received from friends and family in restarting his boxing career.
“That’s how I will help my country more and it’s better than being in territorial defence and running around Kyiv with a machine gun.
“Dear friends, many of my friends and close ones called me and supported me in this. Haters, I wish you well and wish you happiness, joy and peace. Everything will be with God’s blessing. Everything will be Ukraine. Wishing everyone well.”
There were interim plans to get opponents for Joshua which included names like Otto Wallin, Luis Ortiz, and Britain’s Joe Joyce. But, Usyk is now ready to finalise conditions for their rematch before looking for an appropriate location for his training camp.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
