Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk rematch ‘contract is signed’, says Eddie Hearn

The contract for Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk has been signed, according to “AJ”’s promoter Eddie Hearn.

Joshua lost the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles to Usyk in September, when the undefeated Ukrainian outpointed the Briton at Tottenham’s stadium in north London.

Joshua soon triggered a rematch clause to face Usyk again, though the fight was almost thwarted by a step-aside deal that would have seen the Ukrainian take on WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in a unification bout.

With Joshua’s monetary demands reportedly scuppering that potential contest, Fury will instead defend his belt against mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte on 23 April, while “AJ” takes on Usyk.

In an interview on Matchroom’s social media channels, Hearn said finding a location is the next step in negotiations for Joshua and Usyk’s rematch.

“There’s a lot of places very interested in holding that fight, it’s the biggest heavyweight fight so far this year – the biggest heavyweight fight available right now,” Hearn said.

“There are a number of countries in the Middle East that I was there visiting last week, I spoke to [Tottenham chairman] Daniel Levy again at Spurs, who would love to have the rematch back there.

“I would love to see the fight take place in the UK, but obviously Usyk will have some say in that as well, and they’re gonna wanna go wherever the most money can be generated.

“I think May is still realistically the month that you will see that fight. So, I’m just speaking to Alex Krassyuk at the moment and Egis Klimas.

“There’s no deal to get done; the deal’s done, the contract’s signed. It’s just a case of agreeing the location and date, which should be imminent.”

Joshua’s defeat by Usyk was the second of his professional career, with the 32-year-old having lost to Andy Ruiz Jr in June 2019.

Joshua bounced back from that TKO defeat by outpointing Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia in December of the same year.