“Everyone asked me to participate in this fight” – World Boxing Association

World Boxing Association (WBA) Super Heavyweight Super Champion Oleksandr Usyk will return to the ring next August 20 in Saudi Arabia to defend his belts against Anthony Joshua in a very particular fight for him.

The Ukrainian received a permission from his country to be absent from the defense of the territory in the current conflict and all his entourage was pressuring him to make the fight, as he told in a recent interview.

“I didn’t want to leave Ukraine, but I visited my friends in the army and visited them in the hospital. They were all asking me to take part in this fight, to do the rematch and fight for the whole country of Ukraine. Even my wife, I wanted to send her and my children out of Ukraine, but she told me that she would not leave,” Usyk said.

Before the beginning of the conflict, Usyk was out of his country and quickly returned and entered through the border to put himself at the disposal of the armed forces in defense of Ukraine. 

Weeks later, he received permission to leave Ukraine to train and agreed to face Joshua, whom he defeated last September to win the black and gold belt, as well as the IBF and WBO versions.

He said it will be a complicated fight and he knows that now the second one will be much more difficult because the British opponent has made changes with the objective of improving. Usyk knows he has to work much harder but he is ready to take on the challenge and bring greatness to Ukraine.