- Title: Usyk eyes heavyweight unification fight after Joshua rematch
- Date: 28th September 2021
- Summary: ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION, OLEKSANDR USYK, SAYING: "You know, I don't want to wait those two or three years. It's a very long time to wait. At the moment, I have four belts: three main ones; WBA, WBO, and IBF, and the fourth is IBO, which is not one of the main belts. It's like an extra one. But Tyson Fury has the main fourth belt at the moment." NECKLACE HANGING ON USYK'S CHEST (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION, OLEKSANDR USYK, SAYING: "We can talk about consolidation of all the belts only after Tyson Fury has a boxing match with Deontay Wilder, and they determine the champion, and after our re-match with Anthony (Joshua). Of course, I would very much like to have this consolidation match because in the super heavy weight it hasn't happened for some 30 years, if I'm not mistaken." NEWS CONFERENCE UNDER WAY (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) OLEKSANDR USYK'S MANAGER, ALEXANDER KRASSYUK, SAYING: "As for the rematch - the rematch was written in our contract and it is now activated on Joshua's side. And I remember when we were talking to Oleksandr about the rematch, he wasn't upset." MEDIA AT THE EVENT (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) OLEKSANDR USYK'S MANAGER, ALEXANDER KRASSYUK, SAYING: "On the contrary, he was happy. He was glad and said, 'Oh, cool! I will beat up Anthony twice!' Or should I not tell him this? [LAUGHS]" (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) OLEKSANDR USYK'S MANAGER, ALEXANDER KRASSYUK, SAYING: (ON WIDE SHOT): "And those approximate dates which Eddie Hearn announced at the press conference after the match, that this will be February, March, those are the correct dates. Because the rematch has to take place during those dates." GRAPHIC ON SCREEN OF USYK USYK POSING FOR PICTURES VARIOUS OF USYK SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS AND TAKING PICTURES AND SELFIES WITH PEOPLE AS HE LEAVES EVENT
- Embargoed: 12th October 2021 15:41
- Keywords: Anthony Joshua Oleksandr Usyk boxing world heavyweight champion
- Location: KYIV, UKRAINE / LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: KYIV, UKRAINE / LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Boxing,Europe,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA002EWMWOXR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Newly crowned world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk expects a rematch against Anthony Joshua in February or March and wants to unify the division after that, his team said on Tuesday (September 28).
The Ukrainian defeated Joshua in a boxing masterclass at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday (September 25) in front of 67,000 fans, earning a unanimous points decision to take his British rival's WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts.
WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury meanwhile faces Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas next month in the third instalment of a trilogy of matches.
"We can talk about the unification of all the belts only after Tyson Fury will have a boxing match against Deontay Wilder, and they determine the champion, and after our re-match with Anthony (Joshua)," Usyk said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
"Of course, I would like very much to have this unification match."
A former undisputed cruiserweight world champion and Olympic gold medallist, the 34-year-old Usyk came home to a hero's welcome after defeating Joshua.
He follows in the footsteps of compatriots Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko who dominated the division for a decade from 2004-15.
Speaking alongside Usyk, his promoter Alexander Krassyuk said a rematch between Usyk and Joshua would likely take place in February or March.
"As for the rematch: the rematch was written in our contract and it is now activated on Joshua's side," he said.
"And I remember when we were talking to Oleksandr about the rematch, he wasn't upset. On the contrary, he was happy."
Following the press conference, Usyk met Vitali Klitschko, who handed him a WBO belt.
Usyk's other belts will arrive in Ukraine in a couple of weeks.
(Production: Sergiy Karazy) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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