Anthony Joshua will look to avenge his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk when the pair meet in a crunch world heavyweight title rematch on August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Usyk stunned Joshua to capture the WBA ‘super’, WBO, IBF and IBO crowns with a dominant, unanimous decision win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September.
Usyk said: “I have a goal, with the help of the Lord I will complete my mission!”
‘AJ’ activated his rematch clause to face the Usyk again, who was given permission to leave his native Ukraine in March after enlisting in the territorial army to help against the invasion from Russia.
Joshua, who was criticised for his approach to the first meeting after electing to box with the masterful 35-year-old, has shaken-up his training team appointing Robert Garcia as lead trainer alongside Angel Fernandez, after parting company with career-long coach, Robert McCracken.
The British two-time heavyweight champion was pictured visiting several US-based trainers late last year, including Eddy Reynoso, Ronnie Shields and Virgil Hunter, but opted for Garcia who has guided 14 fighters to world titles during an illustrious career, including Marcos Maidana and brother, Mikey Garcia.
“What a roller coaster journey, fighting for the Heavyweight Championship of the World for the 12th consecutive time,” said Joshua.
“I won the belt, unified the division won another belt, lost the belts, became two-time Unified Heavyweight Champion and now have my date with history set to become three-time Unified Heavyweight Champion of the World. What an opportunity.
“Fighting championship level back to back has had its pros and cons, but I decide every day to get stronger, to learn from my experiences and grow. A happy fighter is a dangerous fighter and I am the happiest and most motivated I have been.
View this post on Instagram
“Thank you to the organisers, to 258MGT, Matchroom Boxing and to all the boxing fans across the world, with a special shout out to the Ukrainian fans who have been through a really tough time.”
Joshua returns to the country which saw him avenge his only other professional defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in December 2019, after being stopped in a colossal upset defeat in New York six months prior.
Victory for the 32-year-old Watford man would see him become a three-time heavyweight world champion and perhaps set up an unprecedented, all-British undisputed title clash with WBC champion, Tyson Fury.
Although, Fury has insisted that he is retired following his sixth round knockout over Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium in April.
No broadcaster was announced as part of Matchroom’s fight announcement on Sunday, but DAZN is expected to hold the global rights to the fight, after Joshua signed a long-term deal with the streaming platform earlier this week.
Joshua, the only fighter in Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing stable that wasn’t tied to DAZN, signed with the platform following the conclusion of his deal with career-long broadcaster, Sky Sports who were also in the running for his signature.
The pair will come face-to-face for the first time since their first outing at a press conference in Jeddah on Tuesday June 21 at 15.30pm BST.
