Callum Smith and Filip Hrgovic will fight on the undercard of Anthony Joshua's rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua will do battle with Usyk for the second time on August 20 in Saudi Arabia as he bids to become three-time heavyweight world champion. Details were yet to be officially confirmed with the official UK broadcaster yet to be announced despite Joshua signing a new long-term deal to see his future fights land on DAZN.
It will be another bumper pay-per-view card which will be hosted in Jeddah, with Joshua looking for revenge for the second time in the Middle East after beating Andy Ruiz Jr in a 2019 sequel. It has now been confirmed that a heavyweight world title eliminator for Usyk's IBF belt between Filip Hrgovic and undefeated Zhilei Zhang will feature on the card.
Hrgovic and Zhang were expected to fight on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez's defeat to Dmitry Bivol, but the fight was shelved before being confirmed to take place on the Saudi Arabia undercard. Liverpudlian light-heavyweight Callum Smith will also make his return to the ring on the card where he challenges Mathieu Bauderlique in an eliminator for the WBC light-heavyweight world title.
Badou Jack will also make another appearance in the ring on the undercard where he will take on Richard Rivera just weeks after appearing on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather's exhibition with Don Moore in the region. The card will also feature a female clash which will feature young talent Ramla Ali.
The likely co-feature between Hrgovic and Zhang will see both fighters likely to stake their claim for a mandatory shot at the winner of Usyk's rematch with Joshua in the near future. Wasserman Boxing promoter Kalle Sauerland believes Hrgovic will rise to the summit of the division with an appearance on a high-profile bill.
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“Filip’s opportunity to fight for a belt has always been an inevitability," he said with the announcement of the fight. "If not for a personal loss in his life, he would already be confirmed as next in line to go on and begin ruling this heavyweight division. The cream always rises to the top, and if you look at the targeted opponents who didn’t want to step into the ring with an animal like Hrgovic, there’s plenty of people who obviously agree that’s the level he belongs at.
“Zhang was man enough to step up in the end, but whether it would have been Zhang, or any other heavyweight within the top 15 of this division, the outcome will always be the same. AJ and Oleksandr have a big fight ahead of them, but make no mistake that their toughest fight is yet to come.”
Joshua and Usyk will top the bill and the winner of the fight will likely look to bypass the challenge of Hrgovic to challenge Tyson Fury in an undisputed title clash later in the year.
