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Joshua v Usyk: Watch this weigh-in
This will be the most important fight in Britain for more than three decades when Anthony Joshua faces Oleksandr Usyk at their world heavyweight title matchup on Saturday.
Joshua's WBA and WBO, IBF, IBF, IBO belts will be up for grabs in front of 67,000 people at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. This is the largest British boxing attendance since Joshua defeated Russian Alexander Povetkin in September 2018.
Briton, 31, wants to be the undisputed heavyweight champion. He knows that defeat would ruin those dreams.
Joshua has 24 wins and one loss. He wants to enjoy each moment of his 11th consecutive world title fight.
Joshua said, "Let's get out there, have some fun, and put on an amazing show." His fight against Kubrat Pulev of Bulgaria in December was only 1,000 people due to coronavirus restrictions.
"I want to be calm, relaxed, and precise. That's what my goal is. I cannot wait.
"I am getting better as fighter, so why shouldn’t I be excited?" It's one of the most exciting times in my life. Everybody will be happy Saturday.
Anthony Joshua talks about the pressures that come with being an elite-level athlete in 'The Gift and the Curse'
Joshua is being blocked by Usyk, a Ukrainian 34-year old who was a world champion at cruiserweight and then moved up to the heavier weight category.
Usyk stated, "Every fight is history and me and Anthony's will make another step towards history." It will be something people talk about, will recall and will be watching on TV."
Carl Froch, a former super-middleweight champion of the world, was part of BBC Radio 5 Live’s commentary team starting at 22:00 BST Saturday. He said that "Usyk, a highly-skilled and technically proficient fighter."
He's very fast with the jab, is always on his feet, has great balance, doesn’t over-reach, and doesn’t make any mistakes. He has freakishly fast reflexes and hands.
"AJ should not think too much about it. He's taller, has a greater reach, is stronger, and more powerful than Usyk.
"Usyk is probably AJ’s most difficult test to date."
What happened to the Joshua-Fury fights?
Since 2000, there hasn't been a heavyweight champion undisputed in Britain. There was hope that Joshua would take on Tyson Fury, who holds the WBC title.
Talks between Fury and Joshua camps were ongoing. A fight was planned for 14 August in Saudi Arabia.
However, these hopes were dashed by an arbitration hearing that ruled Fury contractually obligated to fight American Deontay wilder again.
Tyson Fury (left), and Anthony Joshua have all the world heavyweight belts among them
After their December 2018 meeting, which ended in a controversial draw, Wilder and Fury will fight again in Las Vegas on October 9th. Fury won the rematch in February 2020.
"Do I want Joshua win?" Fury said this week, "Definitely." It doesn't make sense for me to beat Usyk up. We will have to pay a few quid if Usyk wins.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, stated that he would be shocked if the fight between the Britons didn't happen. Frank Warren, Fury’s co-promoter said the bout would occur if Joshua and Fury win their fights.
Who is Oleksandr Uzyk?
Both Joshua and Usyk were awarded gold medals at London's 2012 Olympics - Usyk at heavyweight, Joshua at super-heavyweight.
Southpaw Usyk was an amateur boxer who won a gold medal at the 2011 World Championships. He also defeated Joe Joyce, a British boxer, in the World Series of Boxing 2013. He became a professional in late 2013 after becoming a pro.
He won the WBO World title in his 10th professional fight. A points win over Murat Gassiev of Russia made Usyk an undisputed champion as a cruiserweight.
In November 2018, he defeated Tony Bellew, a British ex-world cruiserweight champion, in eight rounds at Manchester Arena.
Usyk moved up to heavyweight and beat American Chazz Witherspoon in the seventh round. He also won a points victory over Derek Chisora of Britain at Wembley Arena.
Joshua's mandatory challenger is the Ukrainian, which means they had to fight or Joshua could have lost his WBO title.
What happened at the weigh in?
Anthony Joshua, at 6ft 6in, is three inches taller that his opponent. He weighed 17st 2lbs. Usyk weighed in at 15st 11lbs. Usyk was the heaviest man he's ever been.
Compare their professional records
Who is the other undercard player?
British WBO champion Lawrence Okolie is the first to defend his title against Dilan Prasovic, the mandatory challenger.
Londoner Okolie (28), has won all 16 professional fights, 13 within the distance. Montenegro boxer Prasovic (26), is undefeated, with 15 wins from 15 contests.
Okolie has spoken out about the possibility of Okolie moving up to heavyweight. He said that Okolie is strong and fast but will not beat me in front 67,000 people in my hometown.
Callum Smith, a former WBA world super-middleweight champion, moves up to lightweight and faces Dominican Republic's Lenin Castillo. Castillo has won 21 out of 25 bouts.
Campbell Hatton (20-year-old son to former two-weight world champion Ricky) continues his fledgling career. He fights for the fourth consecutive time against Sonni Martinez (29-year-old from Uruguay).
How do I follow the BBC's action?
BBC Radio 5 Live will provide live commentary starting at 22:00 BST. Our team includes Jeanette Kwakye and Ronald McIntosh as well as Steve Bunce, Steve Bunce, and Carl Froch, former super-middleweight champion of the world.
Live text commentary will be available on the BBC Sport website starting at 20:00 BST.
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn on Oleksandr Usyk's chances vs Anthony Joshua
