- Updates from the rematch in Jeddah – 10.54pm BST start
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Hello and welcome to Jeddah for tonight’s rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua. There’s a lot on the line for both men in tonight’s main event at King Abdullah Sports City but perhaps even more for Joshua, who is going off as the underdog for the first time in his professional career in his bid to regain the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles he surrendered in their one-sided first instalment last year.
Some within the sport have suggested that defeat will leave Joshua with few options and should mark the end of his career. Joshua has disputed the notion, but there’s no question those rumbling calls for retirement will only mount with a second straight setback.
Joshua firmly believes he can avoid a third defeat in his 27 fights, the other being his shock stoppage at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr in June 2019, and instead is setting his sights on becoming a three-time heavyweight world champion, having previously reclaimed his titles with victory in his rematch with Ruiz Jr in Riyadh six months after their initial contest. In his return to Saudi Arabia, the 32-year-old also addressed the idea that a second defeat to Usyk would be a fatal blow to his future prospects, insisting that is unfair in as much as it his call.
“It’s up to me at the end of the day, it’s not up to anyone else what I do with my career,” said Joshua. “I don’t have to do this. Why do I do it? It’s because it’s all I know.
