THE heavyweight boxing rematch between Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte has finally been confirmed, according to Daily Mail.
The English newspaper reported today that the bout has been confirmed for August 12 at the O2 Arena in London. It will also be broadcast on DAZN pay-per-view for £27, the report added.
Nigerian-Briton Joshua, 33, defeated 35-year-old Whyte via a seventh round knockout in their previous professional face-off eight years ago.
Whyte had beaten Joshua in their amateur days but the Nigerian was superior in the pro clash and has accomplished more in the professional ranks.
Their first fight was also held at the iconic O2 Arena in December 15, before Joshua went on to win world titles.
Joshua, who lost his International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organisation heavyweight titles to Oleksandr Usyk last year, returned to the ring in April after a seven-month absence with a unanimous decision win over American heavyweight Jermaine Franklin.
The victory marked Joshua’s first win since his two successive defeats the current WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight world champion Usyk.
Immediately after the win over Franklin, Joshua said he wanted to fight Deontay Wilder next in what would be a mega bout.
However, promoter Eddie Hearn felt Joshua would benefit from another fight under his new trainer Derrick James before taking on The Bronze Bomber, according to Daily Mail.
Therefore, they opened negotiations with British fighter Whyte, who has been knocked out in two of his last four fights, for a rematch in August.
After a back and forth over terms of the contract, Joshua and Whyte have now agreed terms to fight on August 12.
Before the agreement, Hearn had expressed doubt about Whyte’s intentions as negotiations appeared to be going nowhere.
“We made him an offer which they made it clear was nowhere near their expectations, and, quite honestly, there were very little negotiations after that,” Hearn had said in June.
“[Agit Kabayel] may be on a long list. Anyone in the top fifteen. I don’t mind being honest – AJ’s going to fight Deontay Wilder in December. That’s our 100 per cent focus.
“So he needs a fight against someone who’s going to allow him to work on, under the lights, everything he’s been working on with Derrick James. There’s no point fighting a fight that’s against someone he’s going to take out in a round.
“And it’s difficult to fight an elite, top three of five guy when you’re fighting Deontay Wilder four months later.”
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