Anthony Joshua giving Oleksandr Usyk ‘time and respect’ over rematch

Usyk has returned to his native Ukraine to join the fight against invading Russian forces

Eddie Hearn has said that Anthony Joshua will give Oleksandr Usyk “the time he needs” to defend his country after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Usyk has returned to his homeland from London, pausing negotiations over a rematch with Joshua.

The two-weight world champion won the pair’s first meeting last September, causing the British boxer to trigger his rematch clause.

A deal that would have seen Joshua step aside and allow Usyk to take on Tyson Fury in a unification match collapsed, and Hearn says all are keen for the rematch to go ahead.

A fight date in late spring or early summer had reportedly been targeted for the rematch, but promoter Hearn says that the need to give Usyk the “time and respect he needs” while the conflict in Ukraine continues.

“We obviously respect Oleksandr Usyk and our thoughts are with everybody in Ukraine,” Hearn said to Fight Hub TV. “We’ll give him the time that he needs and we don’t know how long that’s gonna take.

“The only fight [Anthony Joshua] wants is Oleksandr Usyk, so we don’t want that obligation for the rematch to disappear, we don’t want to get out of it, he’s already turned down a lot of money to get out of it — AJ’s got no interest.

“If we’ve got to have an interim belt whilst we wait for Oleksandr Usyk that’s something we’ll look at as well but we want the Oleksandr Usyk fight and we’ll give him the time and respect that he needs.”

Usyk has said that he has “no fear” in returning to fight for Ukraine.

The 35-year-old was born in Simferopol, the Crimean capital that was annexed by Russia in 2014.