"Working hard"- Oleksandr Usyk drops glimpses of his training for the Anthony Joshua rematch
Oleksandr Usyk is working hard ahead of his second encounter with Anthony Joshua in August.
'The Cat' and 'AJ' first faced off back in September 2021, on the Brit's home soil. Despite heading into the matchup as an underdog, the Ukrainian outboxed the heavyweight champion en route to a wide unanimous decision victory.
Now, nearly a year later, the two are set to re-run the contest. Joshua activated his rematch clause following the loss. However, the bout was postponed due to Usyk enlisting in the military following Russia's invasion of his home country earlier this year.
Usyk eventually gained clearance to leave the country to train for the rematch. However, he still had a rough time during the war and in the military. While the heavyweight champion has been silent on his time serving, his wife has revealed that he lost a lot of weight in the military.
However, the 35-year-old is now in training camp and is getting back into scary shape. On his Instagram, Usyk shared some shots from his training camp, giving fans a look at his physique.
It's clear that whatever poor conditions that Usyk was previously in, he's now back in good health. The 35-year-old looks to be in amazing shape and looks determined to defend his heavyweight crown for the first time. In an Instagram post, Usyk left a simple caption that read:
"Working hard…"
See Oleksandr Usyk's Instagram post showing him training below:
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua 2 is set for August 20
After a long wait, Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua have a set date and location for their rematch.
Despite 'AJ' activating his rematch clause the week after his loss to 'The Cat', the fight has seen multiple starts and stops. The Brit nearly stepped aside to allow Usyk to fight Tyson Fury in a heavyweight unification bout, but that deal fell through.
Then, when it seemed that the rematch was a go, Usyk enlisted in the Ukrainian military in response to Russia invading his home country. While Joshua and his team began to look at making other matchups possible, they decided to wait for the 35-year-old.
Usyk eventually gained clearance to leave the military for the rematch, which has finally been finalized. As first reported by ESPN's Mike Coppinger, the heavyweight rematch is set for August 20 in Saudi Arabia.