Anthony Joshua is set to face Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch in early 2022, with Eddie Hearn confirming a date when expects the fight to take place.
Joshua lost to Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September where he handed over his WBA, WBO and IBF titles to the Ukrainian.
Tyson Fury wanted to face Usyk in a unification bout in the coming months in the hope of becoming the undisputed heavyweight world champion and there was talk of Joshua stepping aside to allow the fight.
But Hearn has confirmed AJ will take on Usyk again with the contest likely to take place in the UK.
“Obviously not much other than we got to get together and decide a date,” Eddie Hearn told iFL TV said on trying schedule the rematch.
“April is realistic for that fight and where it’s going to be.
“AJ is the type that fights twice a year, and sometimes we feel like it would be nice to fight three times a year. We’ve had offers from around the world, but I think the UK will stage that fight.”
He added: “We have to sit down with [Usyk’s manager] Alex Krassyuk, and we’ll get Christmas out of the way and we’ll start moving forward with that because it’s time to start planning for that.
“Obviously, there were a couple of discussions about step asides and those kinds of fights. So we’ll have to see. But that looks very unlikely now because obviously of the Dillian Whyte situation, which AJ is pleased about.
“He didn’t want to have those conversations unless I presented them to him. So if that’s not the case, he moves forward with what he wants, which is the Oleksandr Usyk rematch.
