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Nick Parkinson
Unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua faces former cruiserweight undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday (DAZN, 1 p.m. ET, main event at 5 p.m. ET).
Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs), 31, of Watford, England, ranked No. 2 in ESPN’s divisional rankings, owns the WBA, WBO and IBF world titles. His most recent fight was a ninth-round TKO victory over Kubrat Pulev in December at Wembley Stadium in London.
Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs), 34, of Shypyntsi, Ukraine, unified all four major cruiserweight world titles by defeating Murat Gassiev in the World Boxing Super Series final in July 2018. After defending the belts against Tony Bellew four months later, Usyk moved up to heavyweight in 2019, where he has victories over Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora.
If Joshua wins, he’ll turn his attention to the winner of the fight between WBC champ Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, who meet in Las Vegas on Oct. 9 for the third time. If Usyk pulls the upset, Joshua has stated he’ll face Usyk again in a rematch.
Also on the card, Lawrence Okolie defends his WBO cruiserweight title against Dilan Prasovic, and former super middleweight champion Callum Smith goes up in weight to face Lenin Castillo in a 10-round light heavyweight battle.
Nick Parkinson recaps all the action from ringside:
Fight in progress: Maxim Prodan vs. Florian Marku, 10 rounds, welterweights
Ousley outpoints Baysangurov
Christopher Ousley enjoyed a comfortable 10-round majority decision win over Khasan Baysangurov to edge closer to world middleweight title contention.
The Chicago-based boxer finished Round 4 well and came out swinging with hooks in the fifth round.
Baysangurov (21-2, 11), 24, of Samashki, Russia, remained aggressive throughout, but Ousley’s smart boxing saw him pick off his opponent. Ousley (12-0, 9 KOs), 30, saw his last fight end in a no-contest after he was judged to have landed a low blow against Sergio Acosta Osuna in May. He sunk to his knees in ecstasy when he heard the scores of 95-95, 97-94, 97-94 Saturday night.
Still to come:
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Title fight: Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk, 12 rounds, for Joshua’s IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles
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Title fight: Lawrence Okolie vs. Dilan Prasovic, 12 rounds, for Okolie’s WBO cruiserweight title
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Campbell Hatton vs. Izan Dura, 6 rounds, lightweights
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Callum Smith vs. Lenin Castillo, 10 rounds, light heavyweights