DILLIAN WHYTE reckons Anthony Joshua needs to make short work of Oleksandr Usyk to cement himself as a heavyweight gr-eight.
The Body Snatcher, 33, has watched enough of ex-undisputed cruiserweight champ Usyk to know that Joshua needs to blow away the old 14st 4lbs king with heavyweight authority.
Ahead of his own October 30 showdown with Otto Wallin, Whyte told SunSport: “Joshua is a 17st puncher, going in against a guy who can make 14st. He needs to knock him out impressively inside eight rounds — or anything else and it’s a bad night.
“Usyk is a good technical boxer but he carries no power at heavyweight and Joshua should blow him out.”
Whyte, who beat AJ in the amateurs but was stopped by him in seven brilliant pro rounds in 2015, is facing a tricky southpaw of his own in Wallin.
The 6ft 6in Swede slashed 47 stitches into Tyson Fury’s eye in 2019 before losing on points.
And with a lack of unorthodox heavyweights around for sparring — and Usyk claiming all of AJ’s practice rounds will be wasted, as his style is unrepeatable — Whyte is keen to see how his fellow Brit handles only the second — and maybe first serious — southpaw of his pro career
The Brixton ace explained: “The only southpaw AJ has boxed as a pro is Charles Martin, the worst heavyweight champion in history.
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“And he only turned up for a payday and lay down without throwing a punch.
“But beating up a southpaw ain’t too different to beating up an orthodox fighter. The difference is in the defending, boxing on the back foot against someone with a different stance.
“Joshua should have been doing loads of rounds against good southpaws, without even throwing shots back, just letting them throw the shots and learning to adapt to them and counter them.”
After Andy Ruiz Jr stunned Joshua with a left hook to the temple in June 2019, his two return bouts since that shock defeat have proved little about his punch resistance.
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The rematch was a cautious points win that got AJ his world titles back and Kubrat Pulev was blasted out in nine one-sided rounds last December, leaving Whyte with questions.
He added: “The Ruiz loss was heavy, he was dropped four times and didn’t want to continue by the end.
“The two fights since haven’t shown much. Ruiz came in at 20st and Pulev was a 39-year-old looking for his pension.
“If Joshua is a serious heavyweight then he will not be troubled by Usyk — but he is going to get asked a lot of questions and we have to wait to see if he has the answers.”
Watch VOW Nutrition athlete Dillian Whyte fight on October 30 at the O2 or on DAZN.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
