Anthony Joshua will face Oleksandr Usyk tonight in a bid to exact revenge for his defeat last September.
The heavyweight mega-fight will see Joshua attempt to regain his unified heavyweight world titles from Usyk at the Jeddah Super Dome in Saudi Arabia. Joshua and Usyk haven't fought since their meeting last September in which Joshua was comprehensively outpointed.
Now Joshua has made changes to his game including the addition of new trainer Robert Garcia in a bid to shake things up and get the all-important result. Meanwhile Usyk elected to go home and fight in Ukraine against Russian invasion, but then returned to boxing training to fight in a contracted rematch.
The winner of the fight could help bring Tyson Fury back from retirement in a potential clash for all the belts later this year.
Here is all you need to know ahead of the heavyweight dust-up tonight...
What UK time is Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 2?
The fights will take place at the Jeddah Super Dome in Saudi Arabia on the evening of August 20.
Ring walks for the main event are set to take place at around 10:30pm UK time despite it being around 12:30am in the early hours of the Sunday morning local time. That is expected to mean a start time of 10.54pm, a familiar time for UK fight fans, even if that means the fight not finishing until close to 2am local time.
Undercard fights are expected to begin at around 6pm on the pay-per-view segment of the card, with preliminary fights including Ben Whittaker on YouTube from just after 3pm.
How to watch via TV and live stream in the UK
The event will be broadcast exclusively live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK & Ireland, with the paid segment of the event available from 6pm. Customers can purchase the event at a price point of £26.95 set by Sky, with viewers able to find out more details here. Around the world and in America, viewers will be able to watch the fight live as part of their standard subscription on DAZN.
Who is fighting on the undercard?
Filip Hrgovic v Zhilei Zhang
Hrgovic will be looking to continue his undefeated streak at heavyweight with a victory over leading contender Zhang. The Croatian star has won his 14 fights as a professional, and is now looking to put himself in pole position for an IBF title shot with victory in this eliminator.
Despite his superb pedigree, Hrgovic will face the sternest test of his career against Zhang who has 24 victories with just one draw against Jerry Forrest. The Croatian was left without a fight for several months as he looked to cement his place as a world-level operator, but Zhang will now look to step up to the plate as an underdog.
Callum Smith vs Mathieu Bauderlique
Smith will return to the ring for the first time in nearly a year when he takes on French star Bauderlique in a WBC world title eliminator for a mandatory shot at champion Artur Beterbiev. It will be his second fight since making a switch back up to light-heavyweight following his stint at 160lb.
The Liverpudlian lost his first career fight against Canelo Alvarez in 2020 but has since bounced back with a demolition win over Gilbert Castillo Rivera. Bauderlique is a relatively stern test for the Briton, but has yet to fight outside of home soil France in his career.
Badou Jack vs Richard Rivera
Former world champion Jack will make his third consecutive outing in the Middle East where he takes on undefeated American Rivera. The Swedish star's last outing was ended in a first round beatdown against Hany Atiyo on the undercard of boxing legend Floyd Mayweather's exhibition with sparring partner Don Moore.
At the height of his career, Jack defeated the likes of George Groves and Anthony Dirrell when he reigned as middleweight world champion before also winning a belt at light-heavyweight by beating Nathan Cleverly. His latest test is against an opponent who has yet to be tested at a level as high as Jack.
Andrew Tabiti vs James Wilson
Former cruiserweight star Tabiti will take on undefeated Wilson as he looks to continue his march back to a world title shot but this time at heavyweight. The American has challenged once for the IBF cruiserweight world strap against Yuriel Dorticos but was stopped in the tenth and came up short.
A win for Tabiti will be his third consecutive victory since the defeat to Dorticos and will see him oust an undefeated star in Wilson who has yet to be tested against an opponent with a winning record. He will look to continue to make step-ups in the blue-riband division in hope of making his way to becoming a world title contender.
Ramla Ali vs Crystal Garcia Nova
Ali and Nova will make history and become the first women to box in Saudi Arabia on the undercard of the huge clash between Joshua and Usyk. The Somali-born Briton is regarded as one of the brightest talents on the female circuit and has yet to be defeated in her six-fight professional career.
The 32-year-old has a phenomenal back story breaking out as a refugee and became the first Somali boxer to compete in the Olympic Games. She will be looking to make more history with another win tonight, to deliver another timely statement that the future of women's boxing continues to look extremely bright.
Who do you think will win the rematch- Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk? Let us know in the comments section below
Quotes corner
Usyk: “We learned from each other in the first fight, but this is a continuation and the first round on Saturday will be round 13. We had enough time to study each other. We were born to compete for life, for belts, for everything.
"The one who does not compete, does not win. All our lives are competitions for something or somebody. That’s why we are competing. We’ve had enough time to study each other and this Saturday will be a great, great fight.”
Joshua: "It's a ‘must-win’ fight. Preparations have been tough, but I like the pressure. Robert Garcia, Angel Fernandez, members of my previous team as well; they’ve been pushing me, challenging me, ensuring I stay focused, and positioning me to get the job done and emerge victorious come Saturday night.
"This is what competition is all about; setting goals I want to achieve and being disciplined enough to follow them through. That's competition with myself. As you mentioned with the belts, they mean something but that's all at the end of the target. It's not like I'm skipping the process. I'm focused on the process.
"I'm looking forward to it. I want to compete. I'm looking forward to it. I can't really say much else but you've got to have a competitive spirit. I’m prepared to do whatever it takes and I’m looking forward to competing this weekend.”
