Anthony Joshua to defend heavyweight titles against Oleksandr Usyk on September 25

Brendan Bradford

Anthony Joshua to defend heavyweight titles against Oleksandr Usyk on September 25 image

Unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (24-1) will defend his WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO world titles against former undisputed cruiserweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk (18-0) on September 25 (Sunday, September 26 in Australia) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

The fight was made official this week, with Joshua set to make the second defence of his belts since winning them back from Andy Ruiz in December 2019. 

Usyk moved up to heavyweight in 2019, scoring a seventh-round stoppage win over Chazz Witherspoon in his first fight at the weight, before claiming a hard-fought decision over veteran Dereck Chisora in October. 

The blockbuster bout will see two London Olympic gold medallists square off, after Joshua won the super heavyweight division, and Usyk reigned supreme at heavyweight. 

"We are two Olympic gold medallists who have fought our way to the top and never avoided challenges," Joshua said.

"The venue is exceptional, the atmosphere will be electric, I'm honoured to be the first person to fight in such an awe-inspiring venue. The stage is set and I am ready to handle business."

Joshua made the first defence of his second heavyweight reign with a ninth-round knockout win over Kubrat Pulev in London in December. 

The 31-year-old had seemed destined to meet WBC titleholder Tyson Fury later this year before boxing politics intervened and Fury was forced into a third bout opposite Deontay Wilder. 

That fight was scheduled for this week, but has been delayed until October after Fury tested positive for COVID-19. 

After his fight with Fury fell through, Joshua was ordered by the WBO to defend their version of the title against the number one ranked Usyk. The Ukrainian is also ranked second with the WBA, WBC and IBO and third in the IBF. 

After turning professional in 2013, Usyk won his first cruiserweight world title in 2016 when he claimed the WBO belt in a one-sided decision win over Krzysztof Glowacki.

He added the WBC crown with a 2018 win over Mairis Breidis, and became undisputed champion when he picked up the WBA and IBF titles with another dominant decision win over Murat Gassiev in the final of the World Boxing Super Series. 

Usyk defended all the belts once, against Tony Bellew, before going up in weight. 

 

Brendan Bradford