ANTHONY JOSHUA will defend his world heavyweight titles against unbeaten Oleksandr Usyk in a huge showdown TONIGHT.
AJ, 31, saw talks for his big fight with Tyson Fury collapse and now takes on unbeaten Usyk instead in North London.
BETTING SPECIAL – GET JOSHUA TO WIN IN ROUNDS 1-6 AT 60/1 OR ANYTIME AT 25/1
It is nearly a year since Usyk beat Derek Chisora and nine months since Joshua beat Kubrat Pulev at the SSE Arena.
And with a potential British mega fight against Fury in the pipeline – after the Gipsy King faces Deontay Wilder – this will be an indicator of form.
When is Joshua vs Usyk and what time is fight?
- Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk will take place TONIGHT, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
- The ring walk is scheduled for around 9.50pm.
- The first bell is expected to ring at approximately 10.12pm UK time.
Eddie Hearn his stated his belief that the fight will start bang on ten this time around, in contrast to most AJ bouts which end up commencing at closer to 11pm.
He said: “AJ’s ringwalk will probably be around 10pm, that’s reasonably early.
“And I believe the broadcast will start around 7pm. So that will be five fights and then Anthony Joshua”
? Boxing schedule 2021: Joshua vs Usyk NEXT WEEK, Fury vs Wilder 3 DATE ?
What TV channel and live stream is it on?
Who is fighting on the undercard?
There is an intriguing undercard ahead of the main event, with Callum Smith making his light-heavyweight debut against Lenin Castillo.
Smith lost to Canelo Alvarez last time out and has stepped up two weight classes in the process.
Meanwhile Ricky Hatton’s son Campbell continues his career with his fourth pro fight against Sonni Martinez.
The confirmed fights for the Joshua vs Usyk undercard are as follows:
- Lawrence Okolie vs Dilan Prasovic
- Callum Smith vs Lenin Castillo
- Maxim Prodan vs Florian Marku
- Campbell Hatton vs Izan Dura
What have they said?
Joshua on the fight: “I wanted to go like August but change of opponent, completely different style, the team said push it back a little bit, prepare properly.
“This is a fight I need to win because I was at the final destination on that road to undisputed but now we have a pit stop we have to make with Usyk.”
On his son: “I made the sacrifice, I stayed in camp this time.
“I used to go home on the weekends to try and catch up with family and stuff.
“I didn’t really see my family and my boy over that period. I just made that commitment to live an actual boxer’s life rather than going home every weekend.
“But sparring partners do it, they are away from their families. So why shouldn’t I?
“I’ll catch up with the family again on Sunday.”
Stay up to date with all the action in our live blog…
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AJ ADVANTAGE
Anthony Joshua towered over Oleksandr Usyk at yesterday’s weigh-in.
AJ boasts a three-inch height advantage over the former cruiserweight, and is a mammoth 19lbs heavier.
The defending WBO, IBF, WBA and IBO champion also boasts a four-inch further reach than the Ukrainian.
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NAP TIME
And Madden concluded by revealing just how important sleep is to AJ.
He told the Daily Mail: “For me, the biggest priority is his sleep. He’s getting in the ring, he’s got the media and all the spotlight, so to switch off in fight week must be a real challenge.
“We ensure his room is well sound-proofed, with the best possible bedding, low temperatures and blackout blinds.
“We do everything we can to make his room a cold cave. That’s of massive importance.
“On the day of the fight, he will nap for two hours and caffeinate a few hours before he enters the ring to energise his system.
“Mind, body, nutrition and sleep. It’s like tyres on a car. They all have to be inflated.”
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FOOD FOCUS
Madden went on to tell the Mail: “The nutrition is on point, working with the chefs to make sure all the right nutrients are coming in to make his immune system robust.
“The food is also part of that joy and culture of being around him. It’s very relaxed.
“My realm is with the physical preparation. He is also very good at doing things independently.
“Before and after sessions he gets on the floor, does his foam rolling, rotations and yoga.”
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HEAVY SLEEPER
Anthony Joshua’s physio has revealed his training secrets ahead of Usyk clash, including two-hour naps, loading up on caffeine and a sound-proof bedroom.
Heavyweight champ Joshua, 31, has worked with physio Rob Madden since turning professional in 2013.
Madden told the Daily Mail: “There are four main pillars of Joshua’s performance.
“His boxing and mental preparation, nutrition, physical preparation and then sleep and recovery.
“Joshua has acclimatised to late training with Rob McCracken as that’s when he’s sharp and charged, so he goes to bed at 1am and naps in the day.”
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STADIUM STAR
Tonight’s bout will be the SIXTH time Anthony Joshua has fought in a stadium.
And it will be his fifth stadium main event.
Previous stadium fights include Carlos Takam and Joseph Parker at the Principality in Wales.
And Wembley has been the venue for three of AJ’s fights in his career so far.
He first fought there in 2014 against Matt Legg in just his sixth professional bout, before also beating Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin at England’s football HQ.
Tonight is his first fight at Tottenham Stadium, and also the first time a boxing card has been held there.
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ONE EYE ON FURY WILDER
There’s another mammoth heavyweight bout to enjoy in just two week’s time as Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder go head to head in an epic trilogy fight.
And Fury has vowed to end his opponent’s career.
He told Volume Sports: “I’d hate to be Deontay Wilder right now.
“When I put that final nail in his coffin, it’s retirement – bye bye b**** Wilder.
“He used to be a gladiator. He met the old, fat ‘Gypsy King’ – knocked him spark out in seven rounds.”
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ON THE MONEY
Anthony Joshua could bank a massive £30million for Saturday night’s defence against Oleksandr Usyk.
The standard gate alone from the 60,000 tickets could be as much as £15million.
And that is without totting up the 80 VIP hospitality boxes in the stadium that go for around £10,000 a pop and could coin in an extra £800,000.
Then the Sky Sports Box Office Show is priced at £24.95 and if it hits the magic 1,000,000 mark then that’s around another £25million in the kitty.
That equates to a conservative sum of around £40million.
AJ will take home the lion’s share, but it could still leave Usyk with a handsome £10m payday.
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DID YOU KNOW
Tonight’s bout is only the second time in history that Olympic Gold medallists from the heavyweight and super heavyweight divisions have met in the pro ranks.
Usyk won gold in the heavyweight division at London 2012, while AJ also scooped gold at his home games competing at super-heavyweight.
The only ever time it has happened before was Ray Mercer’s fight against Lennox Lewis in 1996.
Mercer had won heavyweight gold at Seoul 1988, with Lewis taking home super-heavyweight gold at the same games.
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LONG TIME COMING
Anthony Joshua thought up a plan to beat tonight’s opponent Oleksandr Usyk THREE YEARS ago.
AJ labelled Usyk as the ‘perfect boxer’ but still offered Tony Bellew advice on how to beat him before the Merseyside fighter took on the Ukrainian.
The Watford-born fighter claimed that counter-punching was the key to success.
He told Sky Sports in November 2018: “From an entertaining point of view, Usyk is like a perfect boxer, so I hope Bellew is working on his counter-punches as well, because that’s the way to knock him out – let him tippy-tap and then explode.”
The advice didn’t make a difference however, with Usyk forcing a stoppage against the Merseyside fighter in the eighth round.
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UNDERCARD
But before the main event tonight there’s a stacked undercard to keep boxing fans entertained all night long.
Ricky Hatton’s son Campbell is in super featherweight action, while Lawrence Okolie defends his WBO cruiserweight title.
- Lawrence Okolie v Dilan Prasovic – WBO Cruiserweight Title
- Callum Smith v Lenin Castillo – Light-Heavyweight
- Campbell Hatton v Izan Dura – Super-Featherweight
- Florian Marku v Maxim Prodan – Welterweight
- Christopher Ousley v Khasan Baysangurov – Middleweight
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WHAT’S AT STAKE
AJ defends his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles this evening.
The only belt missing from his impressive collection is the WBC belt, held by rival Tyson Fury.
And if Joshua comes out on top tonight his next goal will be to unify the division in a fight for the ages against The Gypsy King.
But that also depends on the outcome of Fury’s fight against Deontay Wilder on October 9.
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DING DING DING!
Today is the day fight fans.
Tonight at Tottenham Stadium, Anthony Joshua defends his heavyweight world titles against cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk.
The ring walk is expected at around 10pm after a full undercard of British talent, with the first bell set to ring at 10.12pm EXACTLY.
Joshua hit the scales at the same 17st 2lbs (240lbs) he battered Kubrat Pulev at in December.
And Usyk, 34, reached his career highest of 15st 8lbs (221lbs) leaving 19lbs between them.