Yesterday, Tuesday, June 21, 2022, a press conference was held in Jeddah dedicated to the Red Sea Battle, which will take place on August 20, 2022, between the Ukrainian “Oleksandr Usyk” and the former British title holder “Anthony Joshua”. , in the presence of His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Sports, Mr. Badr bin Abdulrahman Al Qadi, His Excellency the Assistant Minister of Sports, Mr. Abdullah bin Saad Al Dallak, and a number of Deputy Ministers.
During the press conference, the boxers expressed their readiness for a historic fight, which is the second after the confrontation that brought the boxers together at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in September 2021 and ended with the title of the Ukrainian Usyk.
Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk said during the conference: “I am happy to be in the Kingdom and we are here to represent our country. On a personal note, I am proud to represent my country, Ukraine, at this global event and I look forward to all boxing fans August 20 at a historic duel.
For his part, Britain’s Anthony Joshua expressed his happiness to be back in the Kingdom, saying: “I’m very happy to be back in the Kingdom where I regained the title three years ago during a historic match in Diriyah and I’m aiming to get it back again, but wins and losses are normal in sports. In general, and in boxing in particular, you need to have the right mindset to accept defeat, learn, and try again.”
His Highness Prince Fahd bin Abdulaziz bin Fahd bin Saad, spokesman for Skill Challenge Entertainment, which owns the rights to the fight, expressed his satisfaction with hosting this international sporting event in Saudi Arabia, saying: “With our support through wise leadership and subsequent With the actions of His Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – may God protect him – and the efforts of His Highness the Minister for Sports, we are living today in an unprecedented period of sporting growth at all levels, including hosting and organizing events in full, and participating in a match on the Red Sea is a wonderful thing for our country and the sports sector.
For his part, Abdullah Al-Harbi, President of the Saudi Arabia Boxing Federation, revealed the strategy of the Saudi Arabia Boxing Federation, which aims to reach half a million boxing practitioners of all kinds, be it boxing for fitness, boxing programs in schools and universities, or competitive boxing. .Development of the boxing system, building the capacity of boxing personnel, including coaches, judges, arena judges and organizers, encouraging more than half a million boys and girls from the Kingdom to take up boxing, and reaching about 5,000 people registered for this game.
For his part, Eddie Hearn, chairman of the board of directors of marketing company Matchroom, expressed his happiness to return to the Kingdom again and said: “I am happy to return here after the historic battle of Dirya in 2019, as a return to the Kingdom again, especially after the shutdown caused by the pandemic. , is considered a happy occasion for us, especially in light of the ambition that Saudi Arabia has for boxing, as we want to present the fight at the highest level, and also be an inspiration for the youth of Saudi Arabia to lead a healthy lifestyle and develop their love to boxing.”
It is worth noting that the first confrontation between the duo of Alexander and Joshua was the victory of Alexander Osek over Joshua in a fight that took place last September 2021 AD at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in the presence of 60,000 spectators, before Joshua demanded to meet again. This is what is happening for the first time in the history of heavyweight competition since 1999 AD, and the fight for the world heavyweight title will take place on August 20, and it will be the second global fight organized by the Kingdom, after the great success achieved during the “Historic fight in Diriyah” which took place at the “Diriya Arena” in December 2019, and the Briton Anthony Joshua won the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship by defeating his Mexican rival Andy Ruiz by the sum of points, after finishing the last round.
