IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will make his next defense of his titles against the former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on September 25th in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. It will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and Ireland.

“Anthony Joshua is back, live on Sky Sports Box Office, in an epic evening of World Heavyweight Title action on September 25th,” stated Adam Smith, who heads boxing development at Sky Sports. “We’ve followed Anthony Joshua’s enthralling journey since the very start – and now Ukraine’s pound-for-pound star Oleksandr Usyk stands in the way of ‘AJ’s’ ultimate ambition of becoming an Undisputed World Champion.”

The two time unified champion Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) is coming off his ninth-round knockout win over Kubrat Pulev in December at The SSE Arena which had a limited crowd, but this time he will be fighting in the largest football club stadium in London that can seat nearly 63,000 fans. He will be involved in his fifth stadium fight and his second against an Olympic gold medalist. His last encounter with a former Olympic champion was against Alexander Povetkin in 2018.

“The date is set and we are fully locked in,” said Joshua. “September 25, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, I put it all on the line again and it’s time to defend my crown. The stage is set and I am ready to handle business.”

Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs) won Olympic gold in 2012 then took over the cruiserweight division, capped off with a win over Murat Gassiev in 2018 to become the undisputed champion at the weight class. After his title defense against Tony Bellew, he moved up to heavyweight to attempt to be a two division champion. He defeated Chazz Witherspoon in 2019 and Dereck Chisora last year to get him in position for the fight against Joshua. He aims to follow the footsteps of Evander Holyfield by winning multiple world titles in the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions.

Eddie Hearn, the chairman of Matchroom Sport, is looking forward to having this fight between Joshua and Usyk on September 25th.

“Olympic Gold Medalist vs. Olympic Gold Medalist, Unified World Heavyweight Champion vs. Undisputed Cruiserweight World Champion,” Hearn said. “This one has it all and I can’t wait to stage this huge event in front of over 60,000 at the stunning Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 25th.”

More news on the fight card will come in the near future.

Cover photo by Mark Robinson of Matchroom Boxing