Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 will now seemingly go ahead as planned with a rematch date and venue said to be confirmed.
Plans for the fight had been ongoing ever since September, when Usyk defeated Joshua comfortably via points in the first meeting back, stripping Joshua of his three titles and pushing a heavyweight unification bout further into the horizon.
However, it looked like Usyk would be forced to pull out of the upcoming heavyweight clash, when he returned to his home country of Ukraine to join the fight against the invading Russia. The world was left stunned last month when Russia invaded their Eastern European neighbours, leading to a wealth of sanctions against Vladimir Putin's country from Western powers.
Ukrainian men have been prevented from crossing the border, instead required to sign-up to defend the country - and Usyk was one of many athletes to answer the call, alongside fellow boxers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko and Vasily Lomachenko.
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However, Usyk has now decided to leave Ukraine and begin his training camp in Poland.. Usyk wrote on social media: "I decided to start preparing for a rematch with Anthony Joshua. A large number of my friends support me, all the rest of the good and peace, Thank God for everything."
After the initial fight was held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, there were talks for using the same venue - with Wembley also being named as a potential. However, it looks likely that the fight will now be held overseas.
MailOnline has reported that Saudi Arabia has now forked out a reported £90million to host the rematch with June 25 being the proposed date.
Joshua previously fought in Saudi Arabia in his rematch against Andy Ruiz, in which he comfortably defeated the Mexican boxer, avenging his only loss at the time. He will look to do the same against Usyk in June, should the fight proposal be made official.
AJ had an offer on the table to forego his rematch with Usyk, to let Tyson Fury and Usyk meet in a unification bout. However, deals were not agreed, with Fury now set to face Dillian Whyte.
The Gypsy King has confirmed that this will be his last fight, before retiring and potentially fighting Francis Ngannou in a crossover bout in 2023.
Should that be the case, and AJ beats Usyk this summer, he could be in with a chance to turn his career around and become the unified heavyweight champion.
