Fury and Joshua take Saudi cash
ANTHONY JOSHUA’S world heavyweight title rematch with Oleksandr Usyk will take place in Saudi Arabia on August 20. The winner will then meet Tyson Fury in December, also in Saudi, adding fuel to fire after the sportswashing row tore golf apart this week. A formal announcement of the $100million-plus deal for the Joshua-Usyk fight will be made early next week.
ANTHONY JOSHUA’S much-delayed rematch with Oleksandr Usyk is fixed for Saudi Arabia on August 20 and Tyson Fury is in negotiations to fight the winner there in December for the undisputed world heavyweight title.
A formal announcement of the hundred-million-dollar plus deal for Joshua v Usyk II will be made early next week. The Middle East Kingdom is poised to invest even more extravagantly in the Gypsy King’s return from brief retirement for a spectacular which they regard as ‘the next Rumble in the Jungle’.
This ends unfounded speculation that Joshua may hang up his gloves rather than go through with a return bout with Usyk, who stripped him of his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts in an embarrassingly one-sided upset at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September. But the hopes of British fans of Joshua and Fury that the next mega-fights might take place in London are dashed.
Joshua’s bid for redemption will take place in a lavish, newly constructed indoor stadium in Jeddah. It is being entitled ‘Rage on the Red Sea’.
The attempt by WBC holder Fury to become undisputed heavyweight champion is being pitched for between the Qatar World Cup’s semifinals and final, probably on December 17, while tens of thousands of football fans are in the Middle East.
The mega-bucks deal has been brokered for the Saudi government by long-time boxing fan Prince Khalid bin Salman through Skill Challenge Entertainment, who have secured the global rights for Joshua v Usyk.
This venture follows the recent launch of the multi-million LIV golf tournaments, which have stirred controversy by encouraging leading players to defect from the PGA tour. The enormous scale of the money added to Prince Khalid’s friendship with Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has made the Usyk rematch possible. A similar relationship with Fury’s promoter Frank Warren has helped engage the Gypsy King in discussions to put a predictable end to his premature retirement following his recent spectacular victory over Dillian Whyte at Wembley.