Anthony Joshua to rematch Oleksandr Usyk this summer as champion leaves Ukraine for camp

Anthony Joshua will get his shot at becoming a three-time heavyweight world champion this summer when he is finally set to rematch Oleksandr Usyk. The unified champion's promoter Alex Krassyuk has now confirmed to Express Sport that a date and venue is due to be finalised in the coming days after Usyk left Ukraine to begin his training camp.

The showpiece has been up in the air for several weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine plunged the contest into major doubt.

Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn was reluctant to pressure Usyk into moving ahead with the rematch after he bravely joined the war effort in late February by enlisting with the Kyiv Territorial Defence.

Usyk, who cruised to a unanimous points victory on the scorecards at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September, was understandably keen to prioritise protecting his country over a return to the ring following the crisis in Ukraine.

His close friend Vasiliy Lomachenko recently turned down the chance to leave Ukraine for a shot at the undisputed lightweight world titles against George Kambosos Jr in Australia.

However, as a father of three, Usyk is free to leave his home country for the rematch - an opportunity that he has now taken.

Krassyuk of K2 Promotions has now confirmed to Express Sport that Usyk's camp is underway but not in Poland, as previously reported.

He plans to sit down with Eddie Hearn in the coming days to discuss a venue and date for the rematch, which is expected to land in June or July.

The challenger Joshua took to his social media channels with a cryptic post on Wednesday as he donned a t-shirt that read: 'Polska' - with the image captioned: 'Let's roll.'

Shortly after, media reports claimed Usyk had travelled to Poland for his training camp