Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 referee: Who is Luis Pabon?
All you need to know about the heavyweight title rematch in Saudi Arabia
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk will share the ring again this month, as the heavyweights go head to head with the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO titles on the line in Saudi Arabia.
The pair’s rematch comes 11 months after their initial clash, which saw Usyk comprehensively outpoint Joshua in the Briton’s own backyard, taking the belts from “AJ” at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
Now Joshua, 32, will seek to regain the titles for the second time in his career as he faces the unbeaten Ukrainian in Jeddah. In 2019, Joshua lost the belts to Andy Ruiz Jr at New York City’s Madison Square Garden with a stoppage defeat, before avenging that result with a decision win against the Mexican-American in Saudi Arabia at the end of that year.
Can Joshua replicate that feat by handing Usyk, 35, the first loss of the southpaw’s professional career?
Here’s all you need to know ahead of the seismic rematch.
When is it?
Usyk vs Joshua 2 will take place at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia on Saturday 20 August.
Ring walks for the main-event contest are expected to take place at around 10.30pm BST (2.30pm PT, 4.30pm CT, 5.30pm ET).
How can I watch it?
Sky Sports Box Office will be the only place to watch the fight in the UK and Ireland.
The pay-per-view event will cost £26.95 in the UK and €31.95 in Ireland.
Odds
Usyk – 4/9
Draw – 16/1
Joshua – 13/8
Who is the referee?
Luis Pabon will officiate the rematch between Joshua and Usyk, per talkSPORT.
Puerto Rican Pabon also served as the referee in Joshua’s rematch with Ruiz Jr.
Who are the judges?
Also per talkSPORT, the judges are set to be Glenn Feldman, Steve Gray and Victor Fesechko.
American Feldman is the neutral judge, while Gray is British and Fesechko is Ukrainian.
Full card
Oleksandr Usyk (C) vs Anthony Joshua (heavyweight)
Filip Hrgovic vs Zhilei Zhang (heavyweight)
Callum Smith vs Mathieu Bauderlique (light-heavyweight)
Ben Whittaker vs Petar Nosic (light-heavyweight)
Ramla Ali vs Crystal Garcia Nova (women’s super-bantamweight)
Badou Jack vs Richard Rivera (cruiserweight)
Andrew Tabiti vs James Wilson (heavyweight)
Daniel Lapin vs Jozef Jurko (light-heavyweight)
Ziyad Almaayouf vs Jose Alatorre (super-lightweight)
Rashed “Money Kicks” Belhasa vs Traycho Georgiev (welterweight)
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments