OLEKSANDR USYK’S manager has revealed that the Klitschko brothers have not reached out ‘even once’ ahead of his heavyweight showdown with Anthony Joshua.
Usyk, 34, will aim to follow in the footsteps of his countrymen Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko by beating Anthony Joshua to become a world heavyweight champion for the first time.
The Ukrainian takes on the two-time unified world heavyweight champion, 31, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday 25 September for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles.
The Klitschko brothers successfully won and defended all four major world heavyweight titles until Vitali retired in 2013 and Wladimir was beaten by Tyson Fury in 2015.
They are among the most successful champions in boxing history and their support could have given Usyk a huge advantage against Joshua ahead of their highly-anticipated title fight.
Wladimir was beaten by Joshua by TKO in their title fight at Wembley Stadium in 2017 and would be able to give Usyk some useful tips if he had reached out, as many expected he would.
Speaking to My Betting Sites, Usyk’s manager Sergey Lapin claimed that the Klitschko brothers’ silence will make no difference to Usyk’s preparation.
Lapin said: “Oleksandr has worked incredibly hard in training and will prove against Joshua that he is the best around, helped by the addition of trainer Anatoly Lomachenko who has brought his game to the next level.
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“As for the advice from the Klitschko brothers, our fellow Ukrainians, we haven’t seen them in our training camp even once.
“Oleksandr has his own story, and he has been writing it for a long time, from the moment he came to the gym at a young age. He does not need anyone else.”
Lapin is confident of his client’s ability to beat Joshua, despite the world champion from Watford being the favourite going into the fight.
“More than two years have passed since Oleksandr’s transition to heavyweight – and today he is in optimal physical and mental condition to face Anthony Joshua.
“In our world, everyone always needs to prove themselves, which is what Usyk does time and again when everybody doubts him.
“And we, his team and loved ones, believe in his victory for two reasons – one, because he has one of the best techniques in boxing and two, because he uses his legs to the maximum which makes him so tough to face.
“But of course, AJ is a great boxer, he has passed a difficult path in his career. So we wish him good preparation and are waiting for him in the ring.”
MUTUAL RESPECT
Joshua is also known to have a good relationship with Klitschko, with the pair demonstrating a great mutual respect when speaking about one another since their fight in 2015.
He even went as far as saying Wladimir Klitschko is the hardest puncher he has ever faced, despite losing by TKO to Ruiz Jr. He said: “This guy’s a beast, he’s a beast.”
After his defeat, Klitschko took to Twitter to post the message: “Really enjoyed the fight, I hope you did too. Thank you for your amazing support. I can truly feel it. Respect&congrats to @anthonyfjoshua.”
Usyk has won 13 of his 18 professional fights by knockout and remains undefeated, compared to Joshua who has won 22 of his 25 fights by knockout but was beaten by Andy Ruiz Jr. in a shock defeat in 2019.
Tyson Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren recently backed Usyk to win if the fight goes to 12 rounds, saying: “Anthony Joshua must be the favourite for the fight. He’s the bigger guy, much bigger, and he’s a bigger puncher.
“Having said that, if he [Joshua] doesn’t get rid of him, and if he’s still there after five or six rounds, then it gets to the end of the fight, if that goes 12 rounds, I would fancy Usyk to get the decision because to get there, he’s going to have to outbox him.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
