Unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk defends his belts against former two-time champion Anthony Joshua in the main event at King Abdullah Sports City Arena in the coastal city of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday August 20. The list of bouts featured on the undercard of a highly anticipated rematch has been announced today. Among the bouts Croatian unbeaten Filip Hrgovic (14-0, 12 KOs) meets China’s undefeated Zhilei Zhang (24-0-1, 19 KOs) in a final IBF heavyweight title eliminator.
The pair was originally set to clash on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez vs Dmitry Bivol in May, but will now do battle on the Red Sea.
Hrgovic sits at No.3 in the IBF rankings. His upcoming fight against Zhilei Zhang is expected to name the mandatory challenger for the title held by Ukraine’s Usyk. The 30-year-old Olympic bronze medalist, who ended all but two of his fights inside the distance, and not going past the fifth round in his last seven outings.
A host of heavyweights were offered the clash with ‘El Animal’, but not until it came to No. 15-ranked Zhang, who accepted the challenge. The 39-year-old Chinese heavyweight has been circling for a major showdown, and ‘Big Bang’ gets his wish against Filip Hrgovic.
“I respect a fighter like Zhilei Zhang, especially as there were plenty of others who could have fought me and didn’t,” said Hrgovic. “The respect stays outside the ring, and it’ll be business as usual for me when I step in there and look to do what I do best; put people away.”
“There’s a huge amount at stake in this fight. I’m a fighter who belongs at the top of this division, and there’ll be no doubt about this when Zhang is dealt with and I go on to beat whoever it is out of Usyk or Joshua. I’m entering my prime, and now is the perfect time to be putting myself up against the top fighters in this division. I will become the heavyweight champion of the world.”
“I’m looking forward to August 20,” said Zhang. “My team and I have been grinding every hour of every day for this fight. Hrgovic is going to be the toughest opponent in my professional career. A victory will secure me the IBF mandatory challenger position, which is why this fight is so important to me. I will be in the best shape I’ve ever been in.”
Callum Smith vs Mathieu Bauderlique
Liverpool’s Callum Smith (28-1, 20 KOs) returns to the scene of his finest moment where he stopped British rival George Groves in seven rounds at the King Abdullah Sports City Arena in September 2018 to be crowned the WBA super middleweight champion and the winner of the World Boxing Super Series Muhammad Ali Trophy. Now campaigning at light heavyweight, where he is ranked as the No.1 contender with the WBC, ‘Mundo’ faces France’s reigning European champion and No.2 ranked WBC 175 lbs contender Mathieu Bauderlique (21-1, 12 KOs). The pair squares off in a final eliminator for the belt currently held by Artur Beterbiev.
Smith was last in action on the undercard of the first meeting between Usyk and Joshua at the home of Tottenham Hotspur in September, destroying Lenin Castillo with a brutal second round KO to return to winning ways after his points loss to Mexican superstar Canelo. Bauderlique last stepped through the ropes in September when he retired Igor Mikhalkin in seven rounds to land the vacant EBU crown.
“The last time I was in Jeddah I was crowned the best Super-Middleweight in the world, so I have fond memories of the place,” said Smith. “The whole experience was great, and the fans really got behind me, so I’m really looking forward to returning next month. I won’t come away this time as a World Champion, but this is a tough fight on a great card and one which should set up a challenge at the number 1 in the light heavyweight division.”
In other Usyk vs Joshua 2 undercard action
In a huge moment for women’s boxing, Somali-British prospect Ramla Ali (6-0, 1 KO) becomes the first female boxer to feature in an official international event in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, clashing with Crystal Garcia Nova (10-2, 10 KOs) in an eight-round super bantamweight contest. Also on the card, former two-weight world champion Badou Jack (26-3-3) fights Richard Rivera (21-0, 16 KOs) in a ten round cruiserweight contest.
As well, Andrew Tabiti (19-1, 15 KOs) and Tyrone Spong (14-0, 13 KOs) collide in an eight round heavyweight contest. In addition, Ukrainian light heavyweight Daniel Lapin (5-0) faces Slovakia’s Jozef Jurko (9-6-1, 6 KOs) and super lightweight prospect Ziyad Almaayouf meets Mexico’s Jose Alatorre (0-1).
Usyk vs Joshua 2 fight card
The current Usyk vs Joshua 2 fight card looks as the following:
- Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua, 12 rounds, heavyweight – Usyk’s unified WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO titles
- Filip Hrgovic vs. Zhilei Zhang, 12 rounds, heavyweight – final IBF heavyweight title eliminator
- Callum Smith vs. Mathieu Bauderlique, 12 rounds, light heavyweight – final WBC light heavyweight title eliminator
- Ramla Ali vs. Crystal Garcia Nova, 8 rounds, super bantamweight
- Badou Jack vs. Richard Rivera, 10 rounds, cruiserweight
- Andrew Tabiti vs. Tyrone Spong, 8 rounds, heavyweight
- Daniel Lapin vs. Jozef Jurko, 6 rounds, light heavyweight
- Ziyad Almaayouf vs. Jose Alatorre, 4 rounds, super lightweight
The post Usyk vs Joshua 2 undercard: Filip Hrgovic faces Zhilei Zhang, plus more official for Aug 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia appeared first on FIGHTMAG.