Anthony Joshua rematch against Oleksandr Usyk ‘unlikely to be in UK’ admits promoter with Saudi Arabia firm favourite

ANTHONY JOSHUA’s world heavyweight rematch with Oleksandr Usyk is unlikely going to take place in the UK.

The pair’s first fight that Usyk won took place at White Hart Lane, but it doesn’t look optimistic that will be the case this time around.

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The chance of Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk taking place in the UK looks slim[/caption]

Reuters

Eddie Hearn doubts that Usyk will want to fight AJ in London as Saudi Arabia are offering double the money to host the clash[/caption]

PA

Usyk and AJ will split the fight purse 50/50 so Hearn understands why the Ukrainian will prefer to fight in the Middle East country[/caption]

British fight fans may have to trek to Saudi Arabia to witness the enthralling spectacle set to take place in June instead, according to Eddie Hearn.

Hearn admitted that it’s going to be difficult to stage the fight on home soil as the Middle East nation have pitched in with an offer that will pay the fighters double the money.

The Matchroom boss claims he and Joshua would prefer for the fight to take place in the UK.

But he understands why Usyk would rather fight in Saudi Arabia due to a bigger purse as both battlers will get an equal share of the spoils.

Hearn told the Mirror: “If contracts and site fees that have been offered come to fruition, it would make going to the UK very difficult for us to get Usyk to do, quite frankly.

“We can see it from their point of view, ‘why would I bother going back to England for half the money?.’

“We can’t take a site that pays significantly less to Usyk. We want to go to London, it would be a big advantage for AJ to take this fight back to London, but if a site fee generates double the money, there’s no way Usyk will allow us to go to London.

“So we do have to take that into consideration, but AJ just wants to fight.”

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SunSport reported last month that Saudi Arabia was being touted as a possible fight destination by Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk.

The heavyweight rematch was set to be postponed after Usyk bravely took up arms to defend Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion.

But it’s now been revealed that Joshua’s hopes of winning back the WBA, WBO and IBF world titles is back on the cards after Krassyuk disclosed Usyk is in Europe preparing for the fight.

And fight fans will have to wait under two weeks to find out where the bout will take place, Krassyuk revealed.