Anthony Joshua will attempt to reclaim the lost world heavyweight titles when he locks horns with Oleksandr Usyk once again in Saudi Arabia.
This is must-win territory for ‘AJ’, who paid dearly for a misguided approach during the first fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September as he slumped to a dismal second professional loss.
Rather than try to utilise his superior size, strength and power from the first bell, Joshua bizarrely instead tried to outbox and tactically outwit Usyk, a far quicker and massively skilled, awkward and nimble southpaw, who almost managed to secure a knockout.
The result was a comfortable unanimous decision victory for the former undisputed cruiserweight champion, who will face a more aggressive challenge on Saturday night.
Win, and Joshua will become a three-time world champion, regaining the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles while also picking up The Ring belt recently vacated by Tyson Fury, who surely could still be tempted into a mammoth, money-spinning all-British undisputed showdown despite his latest retirement proclamations.
Lose again, though, and the chance at being the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since Lennox Lewis goes up in smoke, as does his long-held status among the elite of boxing’s blue-riband division.
So how much do both fighters stand to earn from the so-called ‘Rage on the Red Sea’?
Usyk vs Joshua 2 purse and prize money
Saturday night’s lucrative main event will involve a 50-50 purse split between the two fighters, with Saudi Arabia reportedly putting up £65million for the right to host the high-profile rematch.
However, that figure is very much the minimum, and will obviously increase with pay-per-view revenue and various endorsements.
