A pair of undercard bouts have been made official for Anthony Joshua’s rematch against Dillian Whyte on Saturday, August 12 at The O2 Arena in London, England. Croatian heavyweight Filip Hrgovic takes on Australian contender Demsey McKean, while Johnny Fisher and Harry Armstrong square off in the all-British clash with the Southern Area title on the line.
The event airs live stream on DAZN.
In the main event, British former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) faces his old rival and former world title challenger Dillian Whyte (29-3, 19 KOs) of Jamaica. The pair meets for the third time. The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds.
Whyte defeated Joshua by points after three rounds of their amateur bout in 2009. “AJ” came out on top via seventh-round stoppage of their professional bout in December 2015.
Filip Hrgovic vs Demsey McKean
Undefeated Rio 2016 Olympic Bronze medalist Filip Hrgovic (15-0, 12 KOs) last fought in August 2022 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where he scored a unanimous decision against Zhilei Zhang. With the victory, the 31-year-old of Zagreb, Croatia secured his IBF mandatory challenger spot.
“The Heavyweight Champions cannot avoid me any longer and once I have defeated Demsey McKean on August 12, they will have no other option but to face me,” Hrgovic said. “I have waited patiently and bided my time but the game is up, ‘El Animal’ is coming for you and is ready to take the belts back to Croatia.”
“McKean will be a tough and strong opponent, but he has never faced anyone as powerful and skilful as me.”
“August 12, at The O2 in London, is the night the Heavyweight division starts to change.”
Unbeaten Demsey McKean (22-0, 14 KO) was in action in October 2022 in Brisbane, where he KO’d Patrick Korte in the third round. With the win, the 32-year-old southpaw out of Ipswich, Queensland, landed the IBF Intercontinental belt.
“This is what it’s all about, the big fights,” said McKean. “I’ve been grinding a big portion of my life for a fight like this. I’m one win away from fighting Usyk for four World Titles. This is my World Title fight.”
Johnny Fisher vs Harry Armstrong
Harold Wood-born, Romford-based 24-year-old Londoner Johnny Fisher (9-0, 8 KOs) is coming off the win via first-round TKO against Emilio Salas in June.
In his previous bout in February, the 30-year-old Harry Armstrong (5-1-1) of Torquay, Devon by way of Camden Town, London suffered his first career defeat, when he dropped a points decision against Jeamie Tshikeva.
Other bouts featured on Joshua vs Whyte 2 undercard are expected to be announed shortly. The current lineup can be found below.
Joshua vs Whyte 2 fight card
- Anthony Joshua vs. Dillian Whyte, 12 rounds, heavyweight
- Filip Hrgovic vs. Demsey McKean, 12 rounds, heavyweight
- Johnny Fisher vs. Harry Armstrong, 10 rounds, heavyweight
In Australia, Anthony Joshua vs Dillian Whyte 2 airs live on Sunday, August 13.
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