Anthony Joshua’s rematch against Oleksandr Usyk on August 20 in Saudi Arabia has landed on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK, the broadcaster confirmed on Wednesday.
Joshua seeks to win back the WBA ‘super’, WBO, IBF and IBO world heavyweight titles that were ripped away from him by Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September.
Sky Sports have broadcast each of Joshua’s 26 professional bouts, including his last visit to Saudi Arabia where he avenged his only other career loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019.
A pay-per-view price for the fight has yet to be confirmed and a global broadcaster for the bout is also not known yet.
Adam Smith, Head of Boxing Development for Sky Sports, said: “Sky Sports viewers have enjoyed a long history with AJ, watching his every fight since he turned professional in 2013.
“We also know Oleksandr Usyk very well, having had the last four of the Ukrainian’s fights exclusively live on Sky Sports.
“This rematch is a massive occasion with everything on the line and so many questions to be answered.
“We can’t wait to bring it to boxing fans in the UK & Ireland in true Sky Sports fashion with all the build-up it deserves.”
This is likely to be the final ‘AJ’ fight shown on Sky Sports after the 32-year-old signed an exclusive deal with streaming service, DAZN in June, which also saw the Watford man become a shareholder, brand ambassador and special advisor for the platform.
The signature of Joshua means that every fighter under Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing stable is now aligned with DAZN.
However, for this rematch Matchroom sold the rights to Saudi Arabia meaning Joshua was not exclusive to DAZN, giving Sky Sports the opportunity to claim the rights for it in an open market for the broadcasting rights.
It was reported in the Daily Star earlier this month that Sky Sports had beaten the competition with a bid of £25.79m ($31m).
Joshua has switched up his training team for his crunch rematch, parting ways with career-long trainer Robert McCracken and adding Robert Garcia to his corner alongside Angel Fernandez, who was already apart of his set-up.
Garcia, who has led 14 fighters to world titles including his brother Mikey and current WBC super flyweight world champion, Jesse Rodriguez, is expected to employ a far more aggressive game plan on August 20, with ‘AJ’ criticised for attempting to outbox the masterful Ukrainian in Tottenham last September.
Usyk, who has three wins at heavyweight since moving up from cruiserweight where he was the undisputed champion, was granted permission to leave Ukraine in March to prepare for the rematch, after enlisting in the territorial army in the war following the invasion from Russia.
Victory for either man could lead to an undisputed world heavyweight title showdown against WBC heavyweight world champion, Tyson Fury.
Fury said he was retired from the sport after stopping Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium in April and later demanded a fee of £500m to tempt him to reverse his decision.
Although, earlier this month he claimed he would be willing to face Joshua for free at Wembley Stadium.
