Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn got left with egg on his face when releasing a statement on the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua rematch.
Hearn put out his thoughts as quoted by DAZN on social media. It wasn’t long before Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas pointed out the mistake.
“They said they would make their decision, and this is their decision. He’s going for it.
“AJ’s over the moon. He turned down a lot of money not to step aside, and then he might not have got the fight without the money.
— Egis Klimas (@KlimasBoxing) March 26, 2022
“He just wants the fight and just wants to fight. I was at the UFC with him, and he was like, ‘I just want to get in there.’
“The only fight that gets him going is the chance to beat Usyk again.
“I spoke with Alex [Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk] last night, and we’ll talk again tonight. The plan is now to start working on a June fight.
“We’re doing it. It’s a goer.”
EDDIE HEARN
It’s unclear what fight Eddie Hearn was watching the first time around as Usyk controlled Joshua’s advances in the first bout last September.
The talented Ukrainian totally dominated the vast majority of the fight as the Briton proceeded to use the wrong tactics in London.
Usyk has since been championed for heading back to his native land to fight in the war.
The second fight is slated for June, possibly in London again. Usyk is a massive favorite to repeat the victory, even if Joshua has reshuffled his training team.
Angel Fernandez, who got drafted to oversee Joshua’s victory over an overweight Andy Ruiz Jr. in their return, is again in charge.
Not many in the know see anything changing as Usyk is just too good. But saying that, if Usyk’s mind isn’t on the job due to what’s happening at home, that could give AJ an opening.
It’s potentially his only chance of winning.
The views expressed in this article are opinions of Phil Jay.
Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Founding editor of World Boxing News since 2010. Furthermore, WBN has over one billion views on all platforms.
Attending over 200 events and scoring over 400 fights, Phil has overseen WBN to a quarter of a million followers on social media.
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