ANTHONY JOSHUA has been studying one of the “greatest heavyweights” ever ahead of his rematch with Dillian Whyte.
The former two-time unified heavyweight champion will renew his rivalry with the Brixton Body Snatcher at The O2 on August 12.
Joshua has holed himself up in his Texas training camp for the second fight of his career rebuild, which new head trainer Derrick James is overseeing.
And they have been studying one of the best to ever do it in the division before next‘s month’s domestic dust-up.
On Monday night, Joshua shared a video of himself watching one of Evander Holyfield’s iconic fights with James to his Instagram story.
The caption emblazoned across the video read: “Watching one of the greatest heavyweights. ‘The Real Deal.'”
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Joshua, 33, is an avid student of the fight game and routinely studies the greats of yesteryear – particularly heavyweights.
AJ had the opportunity to meet former undisputed cruiserweight and unified heavyweight king Holyfield before his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk last August.
The Brit posed for a snap with the 60-year-old after his open workout in Saudi, clenching his right fist as the American did the same.
Victory over Whyte – who he knocked out nearly eight years ago – will see Joshua finalise a long overdue grudge match with Deontay Wilder.
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And he admits the stakes are extremely high for his second showdown with his long-time rival.
He said: “It’s a huge night for my career. I’m gonna be victorious, 100 per cent.
“That’s my goal, that’s my plan. And yeah, that’s my motivation.
“So yeah, I’m looking forward to it. Respect to the team. May the best man win.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn told talkSPORT: “I don’t know how the Whyte fight goes.
“But we’ve been told categorically that the deal on the table is not the deal if he loses to Dillian Whyte.
“They didn’t want him to fight Dillian Whyte.
“It was almost like, ‘Please, don’t fight Dillian Whyte.
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“‘You don’t need to. We’ve got this fight in December.’
“But AJ was like, ‘No. I want to fight.'”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk