Usyk leaves Ukraine, preparing for rematch with Joshua
Associated PressLONDON — World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk is preparing for a rematch with Anthony Joshua after leaving his native Ukraine, where he was helping his country in the war with Russia. Usyk “is already in Europe” to start training for a second fight with Joshua that could take place in June, the champion’s promoter, Alexander Krassyuk, said. Joshua regained his WBA, IBF and WBO belts by beating Andy Ruiz Jr. in the kingdom in December 2019, only for the British fighter to lose them last September by unanimous decision after being outboxed by Usyk in London. “In this way, I can help my country more and better than I would by being in the Territorial Defense and running around Kyiv with a machine gun,” he said in a video message on Instagram in which he spoke mostly in Russian.