Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 is officially official. It had been simply ‘official’ for a number of weeks, since Usyk announced that he would leave his native Ukraine to train for the heavyweight title rematch, but – after a lengthy process to confirm a date and venue – the fight is now on.
It had been un-italicised ‘on’ for a number of weeks, see, with Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn having first guaranteed a June fight date and having mentioned the possibility of the rematch taking place in London like its predecessor. However, assertions of a spring clash gave way to suggestions of a July date, which soon gave way to hints of an August contest, and British fans’ hopes of seeing one of their star fighters in action on home turf were quickly deconstructed – much like “AJ” in his September points loss to Usyk – as Saudi Arabia became the clear frontrunner to host the bout.
