MARTIN BAKOLE revealed the ‘big difference’ between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk is their differing power.
The heavyweight contender has sparred both AJ and Usyk, making him an expert ahead of their unified title next Saturday.
Bakole has been used by Joshua on several times with the pair even becoming good friends.
But it did not stop him from joining Usyk’s camp to help mimic AJ ahead of the Ukrainian’s mandatory title challenge at Tottenham’s stadium.
Bakole, 28, opened up on the sparring and admitted the former undisputed cruiserweight king, 34, never hit as hard as Joshua, 31.
He told iFL TV: “He’s a top guy, and he’s got good skills. He has a top record, and everyone knows he’s the best.
“But heavyweight is not like a cruiserweight. At heavyweight, one punch can change your stuff, but he’s good.
“I sparred him for two weeks, and I don’t know if it’s the way that he prepared for it, but he never hit me with a punch that hurt me.
BETTING SPECIAL – GET JOSHUA TO WIN IN ROUNDS 1-6 AT 60/1 OR ANYTIME AT 25/1
“Maybe he’s saving that for the fight, but cruiserweight is not the same as a heavyweight. If you see him, he looks small.
“He needs to put some weight on because at heavyweight, they have a nice punch.
“At cruiserweight, he has nice skill, but I don’t think he has the same power as AJ. AJ has more power than him.
“I sparred him, and I never see any big punch like when I sparred AJ. That’s the big difference.”
Bakole was once in a similar position to Joshua, when he fought Michael Hunter in 2018, the American who went from cruiser to heavyweight.
And Hunter scored an upset as he tired Bakole out before winning in round ten.
It leaves Joshua warned not to put all his eggs in the knockout basket with Usyk primed to go the distance.
I sparred him, and I never see any big punch like when I sparred AJ. That’s the big difference.”
Martin Bakole on the difference between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua
Bakole said: “You know boxing is more than a big punch. It’s skill as well. I learned a big lesson from that.
“When I fought Michael Hunter, I was only looking for a big punch to stop him.
“After that, my coach said, ‘What were you looking for that?’ We learned from that, and I started working on speed as well as power.
“That’s what Usyk was doing, and he was doing that at cruiserweight, and now he’s doing that at heavyweight.
“If he had enough power, he would have knocked out Chisora. Let’s see what he is going to bring on September 25th.
“I think he’s working on going the distance. I didn’t see anything where he can knock AJ out.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
