IT’S been a long wait – but Anthony Joshua is finally back in the ring.
Pumped-up AJ returns to a full house at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, taking on feared Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk in a potential classic in the capital.
Usyk and his team have touched down in the UK and the countdown is well and truly on to Saturday’s showdown.
- Weigh in: Friday, September 24 @ 2.30pm
- Fight date: Saturday, September 25
- UK start time: Estimated to be around 10.30pm
Follow ALL the latest build-up and updates with our live blog below…
BETTING SPECIAL – GET JOSHUA TO WIN IN ROUNDS 1-6 AT 60/1 OR ANYTIME AT 25/1
JOSHING AROUND
Anthony Joshua and fellow Brit Lawrence Okolie appear to be in great spirits ahead of their respective bouts this weekend.
AJ headlines proceedings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with his hotly-anticipated clash against Oleksandr Usyk.
While rising star Okolie faces Montenegrin cruiserweight Dilan Prasovic.
ANT GOING TO MISS IT
Buzzing for this weekend’s main event, fight fans?
If not quite yet, this will surely get you in the mood.
KOR BLIMEY
Matvey Korobov, who dished out the most humiliating defeat of Oleksandr Usyk’s amateur career, believes that the Ukrainian CAN beat Anthony Joshua this weekend.
He told Sky Sports: “Of course, he [Joshua] is taller I believe, but Usyk can take this size.
“With his speed, with his footwork, and he’s southpaw with his combinations, he can beat Joshua with that easily.
“It could be an easy fight, it could be for both. It could be a hard fight, it could be a short fight. You never know.
“That level, every punch is dangerous if it’s thrown the right way, at the right time, in the right place.”
SPUR THEM ON
Eddie Hearn has given fans an inside tour of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before Anthony Joshua fights Oleksandr Usyk.
And promoter Hearn gave a glimpse of where AJ will warm up, in Spurs’ home dressing room, and how both boxers will make their ring walks.
He said on Instagram Live: “Thought I’d just come on, just to get you a little bit excited what’s to go down on Saturday night.
“The world, the unified world heavyweight championship, AJ against Usyk, here at the unbelievable Tottenham stadium.”
Hearn then headed into Spurs’ home dressing room, where the players shirts are still hung up.
He added: “In here, the final preparations before it all unfolds before your eyes on Saturday. Make the walk, squeaky bum time right now, 70,000 people waiting. Unbelievable scenes.”
NOT OVER YET
Manny Pacquiao has NOT officially retired despite saying his boxing career is ‘over’.
But his advisor Sean Gibbons, also president of Pacquiao’s promotional company, said no definitive decision has yet been made.
Gibbons told ESPN: “In the coming weeks, the senator will decide how he’s going to finish his professional boxing career.
“After the fight and recently, he’s discussed retiring [or] maybe one more [fight]. He’s just talking out loud about different situations.
“Until you see it officially come out on his Twitter or Instagram, he isn’t retired. Once you see it on a platform like that, it’s official.
“Anything else is just talk about what his thoughts are in the moment. It’s coming from him, but it’s hearsay.”
SYK NOTE
Oleksandr Usyk needed the ‘Mercy Rule’ to end the most humiliating loss of his amateur career.
Usyk was an Olympic champion and also won bronze and gold in the Worlds while representing Ukraine in the unpaid ranks.
Since turning professional, he reigned as undisputed cruiserweight king before moving up to heavyweight where he is unbeaten in 18 fights.
But it is not like Usyk, who challenges Anthony Joshua this Saturday, has never tasted defeat.
And his most one-sided of all came in 2006 against Russian middleweight Matvey Korobov.
Korobov was so dominant the Mercy Rule – which means a boxer can be spared by the referee if he is being totally outclassed – was needed.
He told Sky Sports: “There was a knockdown, there was a stoppage.
“I think I dropped him off his feet. The referee scored a knockdown. I think that was the end of the round – the second, if I’m not wrong.
“The third round was stopped by the points, because I was many points ahead of him.”
FIT TO DROP HIM
Anthony Joshua is tired of questions about his slimline figure and ready to bulldoze his diet-obsessed doubters.
The 31-year-old snapped: “I’m going to come in light. Run around the ring, try not to get hit.
“I’ll be on my bike all night. I don’t want to get out of 140 heartbeats per minute, so I’m really skinny.”
The champ is set to bounce into the ring at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium around 17st.
And in a more serious tone, he added: “Listen, I’m as solid as a rock. I’m strong, I’m good at the weight. I don’t really focus on my weight. It’s just training. I just put in the work.
“These are different opponents and I’ve learnt about training for specific opponents. These guys go longer rounds.
“When you’re knocking out guys in three or four rounds, it’s different. I studied boxing and what works for me and weight is not a priority.”
TALE OF THE TAPE
Excited, AJ fans?
Here is your tale of the tape for Saturday night’s big fight.
FIGHT TO THE FINISH
Anthony Joshua hasn’t thought about his fight-ending sequence with Oleksandr Usyk.
He told Sky Sports: “I wish Usyk a great camp, I wish his team well, safe travels. Same with my team.
“The main thing is we keep boxing alive and we get in there and we put on a good fight. And that’s what we’re here to do.
“And that’s what I’m here to do, at the end of the day. And he’s here to do the same.
“But I don’t know how it’s going to end. I don’t know if it’s going to be the jab, the uppercut. Do you know what I mean?
“I don’t know what shot it’s going to be, [but] I just want to go out there and put on a good show for the people that are going to coming out to watch.
“Because that’s all that matters at the end of the day.”
SYK OF IT
Anthony Joshua has labelled fighting Oleksandr Usyk as the second biggest challenge of his career to date.
He told the BBC: “On paper, he sits number two, behind Wladimir Klitschko. They’re very different technically, but on paper, he’s an Olympic gold medallist, he reigned for over 10 years, he’s number one.
“But Usyk is number two because of his success at cruiserweight and then his success so far at heavyweight.
“One of his strengths is that he’s getting in the ring with me. I’ve got to give him credit for that, it’s going to be tough.”
JOSH BOSH
Anthony Joshua has dubbed his showdown with Oleksandr Usyk ‘the perfect storm’ just days before their Tottenham tussle.
The Watford warrior will defend his unified heavyweight titles against the former undisputed cruiserweight king on Saturday night in a mouth-watering showdown at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The tantalising clash will be a battle of two London 2012 Olympic gold medallists, a little fact that has only served to juice up the contest.
Alongside a final trailer for the fight, Joshua wrote on Instagram: “The perfect storm.”
GOOD MORNING BOXING FANS
Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk are set to fight this Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The bout was put together after Joshua’s dream match with fellow British superstar Tyson Fury was postponed.
Their highly-anticipated clash was derailed after Fury was ordered to face Deontay Wilder in a rematch.
Thus, AJ will be putting his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles on the line against Usyk.
The Ukrainian heavyweight arrived in London on Monday with a very simple message for his opponent.
The Cat said: “Anthony, hello, I’m here!”
The 34-year-old looked confident ahead of his big title fight with Joshua in north London.
AJ is set for a major test this weekend and he understands his opponent could indeed cause an upset, just like Andy Ruiz Jr did a while back.
In fact, Joshua described Usyk as the second toughest opponent of his career, behind Wladimir Klitschko.
The 31-year-old told BBC Radio 5 Live: “On paper he sits No2, behind Wladimir Klitschko.
“They’re very different technically, but on paper he’s an Olympic gold medallist, he reigned for over 10 years, he’s No1.
“But Usyk is No2 because of his success at cruiserweight and then his success so far at heavyweight.”
Meanwhile, the legendary Manny Pacquiao has announced that his boxing career is over.
Pacquiao said during an appearance on Toni Talks: “My boxing career is already over.
“It’s done because I’ve been in boxing for a long time and my family says that it is enough.”
This comes after PacMan, who is also a senator in the Philippines, confirmed he will run for president in next year’s election.
OTHER PRIORITIES
Oleksandr Usyk said he doesn’t spend too much time thinking of Anthony Joshua ahead of their match on Saturday.
Usyk said: “At the moment I don’t think about Anthony Joshua.
“I don’t think about what he will do, what he will use or how he will box.
“I have a little bit of timing to finish my training camp now, I might think about it then.
“Right now I think more about how my son feels at school because he has just started first grade and he really did not want to go and do it.
“He was saying: ‘I don’t want to go to school, dad. I am bored at school and you’re not there’. But everything is fine now, he seems to have calmed down.
“So I probably think more about that than what Anthony Joshua will do in the ring”
OLEK AT THAT
Oleksandr Usyk reminded boxing fans of his silky footwork ahead of his fight with Anthony Joshua on Saturday.
A video posted by promoters Matchroom on Instagram showed Usyk in full flow as he danced during a training exercise.
The 34-year-old had ‘that fight week feeling’ as he finally gets his shot at a second world championship.
And Ukrainian electro-folk band Kazka were the heavyweight’s backing track as he pulled off the moves in the gym
Oleksandr Usyk shows off silky dance moves in training ahead of Anthony Joshua showdownJOYCE PLAN
Joe Joyce revealed he wants to take on Anthony Joshua at the Emirates in London.
Joyce wants to battle Joshua after the latter’s clash with Oleksandr Usyk.
When that idea was put to him, he simply said: “That’s the plan.”
Joshua is taking on Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this Saturday
READY TO JOE
Joe Joyce claimed Luis Ortiz turned down a fight with him because he didn’t ‘want the smoke’.
Joyce told iFL TV: “I’m just training, waiting for my fight date, and I should be out before the end of the year. Working on things in the gym, getting stronger, fitter, ready for a world title shot soon coming to you.
“That was an option [to fight Joseph Parker], but he’s obviously now going to fight Derek Chisora, and there were a few more names.
“Ortiz was mentioned, but I’m not sure he wants the smoke. But there are other names around the area. We’ll see what we can get.
“The better person to talk to would be Adam or Sam [Joyce’s managers]. In the back of my mind, that’s what I can remember as the opponents.”
When asked directly whether Ortiz turned down a fight against him, Joyce then added: “Yeah. He didn’t want a war”
MORE ON USYK
Michael Hunter explained why Oleksandr Usyk could hand Anthony Joshua an upset.
Hunter told Sky Sports: “Even though he doesn’t focus on hitting hard, he has enough power to absorb and withstand punches.
“He is bulking up and he is taller than me, he has some length to him.
“He will do exceptionally well. He hasn’t taken any Ls [defeats] and hasn’t been in any trouble since he’s been pro.
“A lot of people are saying he hasn’t performed to the best of his abilities. Against Joshua, he will have to.
“He has done it a few times before, like at the Olympics. He is a Grade-A boxer. Joshua is still learning on the job, going through experiences.
“There is an element of surprise because we don’t know what type of Joshua will come out.
“We know what type of Usyk will come out, we just don’t know at what level”
GRADE-A BOXER
Oleksandr Usyk poses a genuine threat to unified champ Anthony Joshua, according to Michael Hunter.
Hunter told Sky Sports: “He is fleet-footed and defensive-minded.
“It will be very difficult to actually get a win over Usyk in a certain fashion.
“Joshua will have to have a concrete game-plan and follow it. It will be a very hard task.
“If he pulls it off? Give the man credit. Because this style of fighting, for him, is the most difficult”
GETTY IMAGES ALL A BRIT EASY
Tyson Fury “annihilated” Deontay Wilder because the American is too one dimensional, according to Anthony Joshua.
Joshua told Sky Sports: “I believed Tyson Fury could potentially do what he done.
“I just felt like, Deontay Wilder is a formidable ex-champion and has a chance to come back, but I just knew that when he gets to the top level, it will be difficult, because it’s one thing getting there and it’s another thing staying there.
“We’ve seen in some of his fights, it’s been difficult for him and then he lands his punch and he’s been victorious.
“But I always believe that when you go to war, you can’t have one weapon in your arsenal, which was his right hand.
“Once that was taken away from him, which Fury did, I’m not going to go into tactics, but he was able to annihilate Wilder and expose him for some of his weaknesses.
“Fury did a great job tactically and I’m looking forward to their rematch”
HEARN BURN
Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn claims Evander Holyfield’s comeback fight against Vitor Belfort left him “disgusted”.
Holyfield’s comeback lasted less than two minutes as Belfort overpowered him immediately.
Hearn told DAZN: “YouTube boxing is one thing, I don’t mind what Jake Paul’s doing.
“I respect what Jake Paul is doing because one, he’s putting the work in.
“Two, he’s not fighting boxing-based fighters.
“And three, he’s promoting the shows, it’s different.
“Holyfield is not a young YouTuber in a training camp, going out and fighting an MMA guy.
“This is a guy that is not medically fit to have a fight. For the commission, who we worked with in Florida before, to allow that to happen?
“I’ll tell you right now, there is absolutely no way the British Boxing Board of Control would even consider allowing that fight to happen.
“They could have done six rounds. What we saw, it actually disgusted me”
TRAINING DAY
Anthony Joshua opened up about his training ahead of the fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua told the Daily Mail: “I’ve been training on the edge. Exposing myself to being hit by southpaw partners because of only using my left hand.
“That’s hard. That hurts. But the basic necessities of living in the pandemic were perfect for me. I like the basics of life. I don’t need a lot to make me happy.
“More importantly, this has helped me realise that putting yourself in vulnerable situations brings the best out of you.
“Not being allowed to impose my size and power in those sessions taught me not only the power of deep practice but also the power of the brain.
“Our brain is like plastic. It is always changing and you can use that to change and improve yourself. To find out more about who you are”
NUMBER TWO
Anthony Joshua described his upcoming opponent Oleksandr Usyk as the second toughest opponent of his career, behind Wladimir Klitschko.
Joshua told BBC Radio 5 Live: “On paper he sits No2, behind Wladimir Klitschko.
“They’re very different technically, but on paper he’s an Olympic gold medallist, he reigned for over 10 years, he’s No1.
“But Usyk is No2 because of his success at cruiserweight and then his success so far at heavyweight”
GETTY IMAGES PACQUIAO RETIRES
Meanwhile, the legendary Manny Pacquiao has announced that his boxing career is over.
Pacquiao said during an appearance on Toni Talks: “My boxing career is already over.
“It’s done because I’ve been in boxing for a long time and my family says that it is enough.”
This comes after PacMan, who is also a senator in the Philippines, confirmed he will run for president in next year’s election.
USYK ARRIVES
Oleksandr Usyk arrived in London today with a very simple message for his opponent Anthony Joshua.
Usyk said: “Anthony, hello, I’m here!”
The Ukrainian bruiser looked confident ahead of his big title fight with Joshua in north London.
AJ is set for a major test on Saturday and he understands his opponent could indeed cause an upset, just like Andy Ruiz Jr did a while back
BIG FIGHT
Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk are set to fight this Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The bout was put together after Joshua’s dream match with Tyson Fury was postponed.
Their highly-anticipated clash was derailed after Fury was ordered to face Deontay Wilder in a rematch.
Thus, AJ will be putting his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles on the line against Usyk.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
