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      Anthony Joshua ‘more than capable’ of winning Usyk rematch after working on secret technique, says sparring partner

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      ANTHONY JOSHUA is “more than capable” of avenging his loss to Oleksandr Usyk if he implements the “adjustments” he’s made in preparation for their rematch.The Watford warrior will bid to reclaim the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles from the Ukrainian in a pivotal Saudi showdown on Saturday night.
      Anthony Joshua will rematch Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia on SaturdayCredit: GETTY
      AJ was turned over by the slick southpaw in their Tottenham tussle last SeptemberCredit: REUTERS
      AJ has vowed to be more aggressive in their desert dust-upCredit: GETTY
      Training partner Lawrence Okolie believes AJ can get the job done second time aroundCredit: INSTAGRAM@LAWRENCEOKOLIE
      AJ tried to outbox the slick southpaw in their Tottenham tussle last September and ended up suffering a lopsided points defeat.
      But training partner and good pal Lawrence Okolie reckons he can become a three-time heavyweight champion if he sticks to the game plan he’s been honing for the last eight months.
      The WBO cruiserweight champion told SunSport: “Some of those adjustments, which I don’t want to go too much into, are showing a bit in the little techniques that he’s been working on in training with me.
      “I’m obviously an almost opposite style to Usyk, so it’s hard to deal with when he would try those techniques with me.
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      “But it [his most recent training with AJ] was good and I look forward to them clashing again and that’s it.”
      Joshua, 32, has cooked up an aggressive game plan with new trainer Robert Garcia for the desert dust-up.
      And Okolie believes calculated aggression will see AJ detonate one of his trademark right hands flush on the chin of the twinkle-toed Usyk.
      Okolie said of the two-time heavyweight champion: “He’s more than capable of avenging the loss.
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      “He’s a professional, two-time heavyweight world champion and Olympic gold medallist.
      “And he’s a 17-stone man. He hits hard enough to end the fight.
      “So if he can land the shots and set it up properly, he can end the fight.
      “He’s more than capable of doing it. Obviously, it’s a good, hard fight but it’s more than doable.”
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      Joshua doesn’t plan on outpointing his way to revenge against Usyk as he did in his 2019 rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr.
      The Olympic gold medallist said: “I will do my best and win by knockout.”
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      Watch rare moment Anthony Joshua rival Olekasandr Usyk is DROPPED from vicious body shot in amateurs

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      ANTHONY JOSHUA can look to Artur Beterbiev for inspiration ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.AJ was beaten by the Ukrainian boxing master in September but they fight once more on Saturday, in Saudi Arabia.
      Artur Beterbiev, floored Oleksandr Usyk with a body shot in the amateursCredit: https://twitter.com/TheOneTwoBoxing/status/1385982780396425219
      The bout took place in 2007Credit: https://twitter.com/TheOneTwoBoxing/status/1385982780396425219
      Usyk has looked near flawless in his 19 bouts in the professional ranks – winning all of them.
      But he did not have it all his own way in the amateurs, where he boxed 350 times, winning two Olympic golds.
      In one particular bout, against current unified light-heavyweight champion Beterbiev, Usyk was knocked down by the Russian.
      He was floored by a sneaky right hook to the ribs and later lost on points.
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      Usyk, now 35, did emerge the victor in his series with Beterbiev, 37, in the unpaid ranks, winning two of their three bouts.
      That included wins in the 2011 World Championship quarter-finals and a year later in the same stages of the London Olympics.
      As a professional, Beterbiev has won all 18 of his fights by knockout, boxing’s only champ with a 100 per cent stoppage ratio.
      And like Usyk, he holds three of the four world belts.

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      Usyk meanwhile is a two-division title holder and reigned as undisputed king at cruiserweight.
      After beating Joshua, he became unified boss at heavyweight.
      Tyson Fury, linked with facing Usyk or AJ, referenced the pound-for-pound star’s body shot knockdown in an Instagram video.
      Fury posted: “This is how Anthony Joshua needs to attack Oleksandr Usyk’s body. I know the blown-up middleweight can’t take body shots.”
      Oleksander Usyk and Anthony Joshua rematch in Saudi ArabiaCredit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing More

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      ‘We lost a fight but not the war’ – Anthony Joshua’s secret dressing room speech after Oleksandr Usyk defeat revealed

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      ANTHONY JOSHUA revealed he told his team “we lost a fight but not the war” following defeat to Oleksandr Usyk. AJ was stunned last September on points by the Ukrainian great, setting up an immediate rematch this Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
      Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua after their first fightCredit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing
      But Joshua refused to give up and was the one picking up the pieces after the crushing loss.
      He said: “Right after, in the changing room, I knew I would fight again.
      “I was telling everyone, ‘Come on, what the f***? We are warriors, we lost a fight but not the war. This is an ongoing battle. It’s not over ’til it’s over.’
      “That’s how I re-motivated my team. Nothing should dishearten you.
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      “I have to keep that mentality for the rest of my life even if I stumble privately or publicly.”
      Joshua, 32, invoked his right to a rematch right away but amid Ukraine’s war with Russia the fight faced delays.
      It provided AJ with more time to train under new coach Robert Garcia having left Rob McCracken and his Sheffield training base.
      But it leaves Joshua with only one fight in the last year and plenty of thinking time.

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      He said: “It has been a nightmare just sitting on this loss for so many months.
      “The time-frame does change every day, I have dedicated a lot of my life to a very tough sport.
      “I will do this for as long as I can but I think I’m quite smart at business now, I will be 33 shortly and a lot will come down to how long my body can hang on.”
      Anthony Joshua ahead of his rematchCredit: Getty More

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      Boxing legend Mike Tyson says he wished he smoked WEED before his fights & takes psychedelic drugs every day

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      BOXING legend Mike Tyson says he wishes he smoked weed before his fights – but is now making up for lost time by taking psychedelic drugs every day. The former heavyweight champ uses both magic mushrooms and cannabis, but says he’d have been an even more fearsome fighter if he’d done so in his heyday.
      Boxing legend Mike Tyson has revealed how he prepares for fights these days – by taking magic mushrooms and cannabisCredit: SWNS
      The champ says he wishes he’d been smoking spliff in his heyday
      In an interview with Muscle and Health Magazine, Tyson said he now runs his own weed company, Tyson 2.0.
      He said: “Cannabis is good to workout on for me.
      “I just wish I was smoking back when I was fighting – I really lost out there from an athlete’s perspective.
      “[But] if I’d smoked during my boxing career, I probably wouldn’t have been so aggressive.
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      “I also like taking mushrooms and smoking before fighting. I take psychedelics every day, mushrooms.”
      Tyson is perhaps now best known for the controversy that followed his 1997 match with Evander Holyfield.
      Contested for the WBA Heavyweight Championship, the match was originally billed as ‘The Sound and The Fury’ – but is better remembered for the shocking moment in the third round when Tyson bit part of Holyfield’s ear off.
      At the time, it was considered the end of Tyson’s career and saw him suspended from the sport indefinitely.
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      But, in the 25 years since, the native New Yorker has been able to parlay the incident into a lucrative business that combines his other love – cannabis.
      Tyson’s cannabis brand flogs THC edible ‘Mike Bites’ – sweets shaped exactly like Evander Holyfield’s ear.
      He said: “I can now regain what I lost because I’ve been so successful with Mike Bites and other ear-related merchandise.
      “It’s like making lemons out of lemonade when you think about it, because I got severely fined for the ear bite and all these years later it’s turned into a blessing.
      “People see it almost as slapstick comedy.
      THE HIGH LIFE
      “I’ve been making hundreds of thousands of dollars just from images of biting people’s ears. It’s just incredible and I’m very grateful.
      “It could have been bad. It could have turned out really bad.”
      Tyson’s varied career has also seen him dabble in film, with Hollywood under his belt – and Bollywood next on the hit list.
      He said: “I’ve just finished filming Vendetta with Bruce Willis.
      “I didn’t have the chance in our movie to interact personally, but we’re good friends.
      DANK SIDE
      “I was acting alongside Thomas Jane who played the lead role in The Punisher, I got to play with some really fun guns.
      “I’ve also been working on a Bollywood movie. I enjoy being on a stage, I like being on stage. I could even belly dance if someone taught me!”
      Editor Danni Levy, who spoke with the boxing star for Muscle and Health Magazine, added: “If ever I was looking for a way to enliven my life, spending an afternoon with Mike Tyson eating THC edibles would probably have been top of my list, albeit a far-fetched notion.
      “Tyson’s personality is contagious.
      “He emulates warmth and family charm. His smile makes you smile.
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      “And it’s easy to see why, 25 years after an event that could’ve ruined his career, he’s flipped the coin and turned mincemeat into millions.
      “Sharing an afternoon with Tyson was undoubtedly one of the most memorable moments of my career.”
      Tyson now sells ‘Mike Bites’ edibles – sweets shaped like Evander Holyfield’s earCredit: SWNS More

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      Carl Froch reacts to Oleksandr Usyk’s stunning body transformation after piling on ‘two STONE’ for Anthony Joshua fight

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      CARL FROCH has doubted Oleksandr Usyk’s rumoured weight gain will increase his punch power. Amir Khan raised eyebrows when he claimed Usyk had put on over TWO STONE during training for his rematch with Anthony Joshua.
      Oleksandr Usyk ahead of his rematch with Anthony JoshuaCredit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing
      But Froch, 45, said: “Possibly he might be thinking that if ‘I put some weight on that my punch is going to have a little bit more impact’.
      “But it’s the fast punches that hurt more and the timing of the punch because it’s not always the weight.
      “Look at Prince Naseem Hamed, he was a featherweight, and he could punch like a heavyweight, Julian Jackson, you go over the history, you can either punch or you can’t and putting weight on doesn’t make you punch harder.
      “Obviously there’s more weight behind the punch but an actual hard punch doesn’t come from having bigger biceps or bigger lats or whatever.
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      “Usyk knows this, he’s not stupid, he’s a master. He’s got an honorary degree and how many masters in boxing.”
      Usyk, 35, outclassed Joshua, 32, over 12 rounds last September after weighing in at 15st 11lb.
      But in training material heading into the rematch on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, the Ukrainian appeard to have bulked up.
      And if the ex-undisputed cruiserweight king is to have piled on the pounds, Froch believes it would have happened naturally.

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      He said: “I think it’s a natural progression, a natural development of someone that is 35 years old.
      “I put a bit of weight on when I retired at 36, I’m sitting here at 14 stone.
      “I was two stone lighter when I boxed, where has two stone gone off me now.
      “I just think that Usyk’s getting bigger because he’s not making cruiserweight anymore.
      “He’s up to heavyweight, he’s eating what he wants which is a good thing.
      “So naturally, with his age and with his diet now and with his training, he’ll being doing some more weights.
      “He’ll be doing some more compound exercises like deadlifts and clean and press – well he should be if his strength and conditioning coach knows what he’s doing.
      “So, he’ll naturally get bigger, he’s probably put a stone on, he’s not put two stone on. I don’t think it’s going to be a massive advantage or disadvantage.”
      Former world champion-turned pundit Carl FrochCredit: Getty Images – Getty More

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      Watch Tyson Fury demonstrate to Anthony Joshua how to attack Oleksandr Usyk’s body as he shares tips with Brit rival

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      TYSON FURY urged Anthony Joshua to target Oleksandr Usyk’s body in their Saudi Arabia rematch. Fury uploaded a video to his Instagram smashing combinations with trainer Andy Lee, who was wearing a body belt.
      Tyson Fury urged Anthony Joshua to target Oleksandr Usyk’s bodyCredit: Instagram / @tysonfury
      Tyson Fury smashing Andy Lee’s body beltCredit: Instagram / @tysonfury
      And he captioned the post: “This is how Anthony Joshua needs to attack Oleksandr Usyk’s body.
      “I know the blown-up middleweight can’t take body shots.”
      Usyk – who started his amateur career at middleweight – was once dropped by Artur Beterbiev after a body shot in the unpaid ranks.
      And Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has urged the former two-time champion to adopt similar tactics on Saturday night.
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      Hearn told EsNews: “You got to hit him hard to the body, to the arms, to the shoulders, to the neck. You’ve got to damage him.
      “But he’s a very tough challenge. The key to this fight is those first six rounds.”
      Joshua, 32, was beaten over 12 rounds by Usyk, 35, last September but Hearn wants the rematch in Jeddah wrapped up before the final bell.
      He said: “I don’t want it to go to points. I don’t like this fight going to points for Anthony Joshua.
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      “He can win the fight on points but I want him to knock Oleksandr Usyk spark out because I don’t want any mucking around.
      “I want a nice, clean stoppage where we can all dive in the ring, celebrate and go home with all the belts and that’s what we want.”
      Fury, 34, is linked with a comeback to fight the winner between Usyk and Joshua.
      Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua ahead of their rematchCredit: Reuters More

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      Tyson Fury claims ‘sausage’ Derek Chisora snubbed £2MILLION fight offer before he announced retirement

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      TYSON FURY claimed “sausage” Derek Chisora turned down a £2million trilogy fight offer. The pair were in talks for another unlikely rematch, despite Fury’s two wins in 2011 and 2014.
      Tyson Fury said Derek Chisora turned down a £2m trilogy fight offer
      Derek Chisora’s proposed trilogy with Tyson Fury is offCredit: Getty
      Although it took only a matter of days for the deal to collapse, which led to the Gypsy King announcing his intent to remain retired.
      Chisora is under Anthony Joshua’s 258 Management stable and Fury was quick to hit out at the “pack of jokers”.
      He fumed on Instagram: “I see Derek Chisora has been having a little pop; licking his wounds after losing £2million.
      “God almighty, what a mistake, what a mistake. You’re probably going to get £375,000 for your next fight and your management team turned down £2million.
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      “What jokers, a pack of jokers. Honestly, there’s more brains in your little finger than your full management team will ever have.
      “Where is someone like Derek Chisora going to get offered £2million ever again?”
      Fury, 34, first announced he was walking away from boxing after knocking out Dillian Whyte, also 34, at Wembley in April.
      But with Oleksandr Usyk, 35, rematching Joshua, 32, on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, he remained linked with returning to fight the winner.
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      Although Fury made the shock decision to call out Chisora, 38, to complete their trilogy and come out of retirement.
      It then took him just two days to backtrack and double down on his decision to hang up his gloves.
      Fury’s promoter Bob Arum and Frank Warren do remain hopeful the heavyweight star will come back to fight either AJ or Usyk.
      And the WBC have given Fury until August 26 to confirm in writing his retirement or else he will be stripped of the belt.
      Tyson Fury has maintained he will remain retiredCredit: PA More

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      Paige VanZant AXED from BKFC London fight at last minute leaving ex-UFC star ‘p***ed and heartbroken’

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      PAIGE VANZANT’s do-or-die bare-knuckle clash with Charis Sigala has fallen through at the 11th hour.The former UFC star was due to clash with her fellow MMA fighter in the co-main event of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship’s London debut on Saturday.
      Paige VanZant’s bare-knucke clash with Charisa Sigala has been called offCredit: GETTY
      VanZant and Sigala were due to clash in the co-main event of BKFC London on Saturday nightCredit: BKFC
      VanZant vented her fury at the late cancellation on TwitterCredit: INSTAGRAM@PAIGEVANZANT
      VanZant has been left devastated by the late cancellation of the fightCredit: INSTAGRAM
      But the fight has been called off due to unexplained reasons.
      The 28-year-old wrote on her Instagram story late on Tuesday night: “My fight is off.
      “This is not from my team or from me. I was beyond ready and excited to fight.
      “Hope to have news soon. Heartbroken.”
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      A furious VanZant later added: “THIS IS OUT OF MY CONTROL!!!
      “I WENT AN ENTIRE CAMP AND WEIGHT CUT TO BE PULLED A WEEK OUT!!!!”
      VanZant had hoped to pick up her maiden win under the BKFC banner at Wembley Arena following a difficult start to life in the promotion.
      She said: “I did not pull [out] from my fight!!!! I was pulled!
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      “I am pissed off and heartbroken.
      “I worked my f***ing ass off to be pulled a week before I am supposed to compete.”
      It’s been claimed that VanZant’s clash with Sigala has been rescheduled for October 15, although the promotion have yet to confirm the new date.
      VanZant inked a lucrative multi-fight deal with BKFC in the summer of 2020 after being released from the UFC.
      But life in the BKFC ranks hasn’t gone well for the American Top Team star, who has lost both her outings in the promotion.
      VanZant suffered a decision loss in her debut to Britain Hart last February, with the same fate befalling her in a rematch with fellow former UFC star Rachael Ostovich last July.
      The skid made her now-cancelled London clash with Sigala a must-win in the eyes of BKFC chief Dave Feldman.
      He told GiveMeSport: “If Paige loses, her bare-knuckle career is definitely at an end.
      “I mean, she did an interview and said there was no pressure on this fight.
      “So, you know, if she feels there’s no pressure, then maybe, you know, maybe she’s very confident.
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      “But, you know, I can’t keep saying after every fight, we’ll see how she does.
      “And that’s why if she doesn’t do well in this fight, If she doesn’t come out victorious, or at least look very, very good, then she’s probably at the end of her bare-knuckle career.”
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