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Eddie Hearn, promoter for IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, has confirmed that there will be a rematch clause in the upcoming fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk is the WBO’s mandatory challenger – and in many situations there are no rematch clauses in mandatory fights.
However, the individual parties do have the right to negotiate between themselves to set their own contract terms.
Back in 2019, Andy Ruiz shocked the world when he stopped Joshua in seven rounds to capture the heavyweight crown.
The Mexican boxer made a fortune in the rematch, which took place in December of the same year in Saudi Arabia. Joshua outboxed Ruiz to secure a twelve round unanimous decision to reclaim the heavyweight crown.
Should Usyk pull off the upset, there would be a major payday in store for him in the second fight, says Hearn.
“There will be a [rematch] clause. All the terms are agreed… when you talk about a rematch clause that’s also the biggest fight that a fighter could have,” Hearn told Boxing Social.
“So sometimes people think ‘oh that’s a bad thing’, it’s actually sometimes a good thing. Andy Ruiz ended up actually getting quite a lot of money for his rematch, but it’s a massive opportunity, if Oleksandr Usyk wins he makes an absolute fortune to fight AJ again.”
Usyk is a big underdog in the contest, because he hasn’t been as dominant in the heavyweight division. An Olympic gold medal winner as an amateur, Usyk unified the entire cruiserweight division as a pro.
He officially moved up to heavyweight in 2019 – and has since had two fights in the weight class. Back in October, he fought through fire to win a decision over division veteran Derek Chisora.