Oleksandr Usyk has been granted permission to show his rematch with Anthony Joshua for FREE in Ukraine.
Usyk will defend his three heavyweight world titles against the Brit in Jeddah on August 20, almost a year after he dethroned Joshua in London. The Ukrainian attempted to buy the rights to the fight to then show it for free in his homeland, but was instead gifted them by the Saudi organisers.
The champion's promoter Alex Krassyuk told talkSPORT : "He intended to buy, but received it [free] for Ukraine. He makes it free to watch via Megogo [streaming service], his YouTube channel and via state public TV ‘Suspilne’." Fans in the UK will have to pay £26.95 to watch the fight on Sky Sports Box Office after the broadcaster won a bidding war with streaming service DAZN.
Usyk's second meeting with Joshua had been due to take place earlier this year but was repeatedly delayed after the champion took up arms in face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He eventually left his homeland to start his training camp as the fight was finally confirmed.
The former undisputed cruiserweight world champion has also released an NFT in an attempt to earn $2million for his foundation. "Compared to war, boxing is child’s play," he told Blockasset this week. "War is a terrible thing, which I would not wish on my worst enemy. My thoughts, as much as possible, are to be prepared well for the Joshua fight and to be able to glorify again my god Jesus Christ and my native land."
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Joshua is currently in Saudi Arabia preparing for his second revenge mission in three years following his rematch Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019. The Olympic gold medalist has replaced head trainer Rob McCracken with renowned coach Robert Garcia who hopes to train his first heavyweight world champion.
But Joshua insists earning respect means more to him than the belts. “I feel like I’m not getting looked at as someone who is a dominant heavyweight in the division," he said in an interview with JD Sports.
"This big Anthony Joshua goes and wins becomes three-time. I'm going to dash these belts because you've got to learn to respect me as a person. I’m tired, I don’t want to be respected because of the belts I hold, I want to be respected because of the man you see."
