Fight Talk: Joshua v Usyk rematch confirmed, and why everyone fears Artur Beterbiev
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Artur Beterbiev put in a frightening display against Joe Smith Jr on Saturday
Artur Beterbiev haunts our nightmares, a lot of people are belittling Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury is talking money.
Those are just a few of the big talking points in the world of boxing this week.
Who's in Joshua's corner for Usyk rematch?
It's been made official - Anthony Joshua will get his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on 20 August in Saudi Arabia.
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Usyk, 35, shocked a few pundits when he beat Joshua last September to take the WBA (Super), IBF and WBO heavyweight titles.
Joshua, 31, will be hoping for revenge. "A happy fighter is a dangerous fighter and I am the happiest and most motivated I have been," he said.
However, not everyone seems convinced that the Londoner will be able to do the job. In fact, some pundits reckon this is more likely to be a chance for Usyk to finish the job he started last year.
Some fans are throwing the towel in on Joshua already
Confident
The Ukrainian has been helping his country in the war against Russia and at one point it looked as if the rematch might have to be postponed. Either way, Usyk, who has spent most of his career at cruiserweight, looks in good shape.
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Of course, not everyone on boxing Twitter is writing off two-time world champion AJ.
At least someone's got Joshua's back
Put your money where your mouth is
The man that most fans would want to take on the winner of that fight would be Tyson Fury. However, he says it's going to take a lot to tempt him out of retirement.
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Artur Beterbiev is the knockout king
Russian fighter Beterbiev is truly the stuff of fighters' nightmares. The 37-year-old knocked out American rival Joe Smith Jr within two rounds on Saturday, sending him to the canvas three times before the fight was stopped.
That's an 18-0 record now for the light-heavyweight world champion. All have been won in much the same fashion.
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Seriously, who would want to face this guy?
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Putting in the hard Yardes
Well, we didn't have to wait long to discover the answer to that question. Thirty-year-old Briton Anthony Yarde will be the next man to step into the ring with Beterbiev in October.
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This will be Yarde's second world title fight, after he lost out in his first bid to take the WBO belt from Sergey Kovalev in 2019.
It won't be easy though.
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Josh Taylor highlights abuse
And, finally, Scottish fighter Josh Taylor has spoken publicly in a new film about some of the abuse he and his family received online after his controversial points victory over Jack Catterall in February.
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The hard-hitting documentary comes to BBC Scotland on Tuesday 21 June at 22:00 BST.
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- Published16 October 2022
