LONDON (News Wires) — Former world champion Anthony Joshua and fellow British heavyweight Dilian Whyte will meet on Aug. 12 at London’s O2 Arena in a rematch of their 2015 bout at the same venue, promoters Matchroom said.
Joshua knocked out Whyte in the seventh round of their British and Commonwealth title clash in December 2015, avenging a loss he suffered when the pair fought as amateurs.
The 33-year-old beat American Jermaine Franklin on points in April, his first win in more than two years after back-to-back defeats to Ukraine’s unified champion Oleksandr Usyk.
“I’ve been clear that my plan is to be active this year,” Joshua said. “I’ll be ready to fight. I look forward to dealing with business.”
Whyte, 35, also beat Franklin last November after losing his only world title challenge to Tyson Fury in April 2022.
“I’m looking forward to returning to the London O2 and going to war,” Whyte said. “It’s 1-1, so this is the decider.”
Protracted negotiations between Joshua and WBC champion Tyson Fury over a potential lucrative fight have once again fallen through and he has been offered to face Whyte, whom he beat in 2015 in a contest. passionate about the British and Commonwealth title.
Whyte, 35, also remains on a win over the same Franklin at Wembley last November, seven months after his sixth-round loss to undisputed champion Fury at Wembley in April 2022.
If successful against Whyte, Joshua is tipped to next face Deontay Wilder in another lucrative heavyweight clash.
Boxing’s biggest star is set to return to the ring September 16th, as Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has announced his next fight.
According to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, Alvarez has reached a three fight deal under the Premier Boxing Championship (PBC) promotion, the first of the contract being a super middleweight showdown against undefeated WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo.
Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) made his latest appearance this past May in a dominant win over a resilient John Ryder in his hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Marking his second straight successful title defense, the other being a win in the trilogy against longtime rival, Gennadiy Golovkin in September 2022 after losing in May of that year against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in an attempt to capture gold at 175 lbs.
Many were expecting Canelo to attempt the rematch with Bivol after defeating ‘GGG’ and his mandatory challenger in Ryder, but it seemed the Canelo and Bivol camps couldn’t come to an agreement to which Canelo shifted his attention to Charlo.
Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) has held the WBC middleweight belt since 2019 and beforehand held the IBF super welterweight strap.
Thought has been inactive since June 2021 after defeating Juan Macias Montiel by unanimous decision.
After having a successful middleweight run with wins against the likes of Montiel, Sergiy Deveryachenko, and Dennis Hogan to name a few, Charlo looks to jump up to 168 lbs for a much anticipated showdown with the Mexican superstar.
