Heavyweight boxing

CHEEKY Oleksandr Usyk showed his fun side by jokingly switching up his stance after Anthony Joshua’s dig. The pair are making their final preparations for Saturday night’s rematch in Saudi Arabia.
Oleksandr Usyk toyed with Anthony Joshua by pretending to train orthodox style
The Ukrainian is left-handed and therefore uses the southpaw stance
Usyk caused plenty of problems with his left hand in SeptemberCredit: Marc Aspland – The Sunday Times
Usyk, 35, claimed victory back in September as he outclassed his British opponent.
But AJ, 32, reckons he would have “smoked” the Ukrainian if he was not a southpaw.
So in response, Usyk bounced around the ring in training deliberately taking up an orthodox, right-handed position.
The current WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight world champ was clearly enjoying playing up to the cameras in the witty jibe – and ramping up the mind games.
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And his confidence is sky high as he prepares to defend his belts for the first time in the top division.
Joshua said in the build-up to fight night: “Fighting a leftie is a nightmare and he is a good one as well.
“He is good — but if he was an orthodox fighter I’d have smoked him, 100 per cent.
“But with this leftie nonsense it’s just different, they set you up differently.

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“If you are a good leftie you have a good chance of making it in boxing, I reckon.”
Joshua and Usyk will step back into the ring late on Saturday evening in Jeddah – with Usyk returning to his normal southpaw set-up.
The Watford star knows he needs to be at his best and return to winning ways.
Should he lose, that would make it three defeats in his last five fights and could threaten his future career.
However, training partner and good pal Lawrence Okolie reckons he can become a three-time heavyweight champion if he sticks to the secret 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.
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“I’m obviously an almost opposite style to Usyk, so it’s hard to deal with when he would try those techniques with me.
“But it [his most recent training with AJ] was good and I look forward to them clashing again and that’s it.”
The pair will face off again in Jeddah on SaturdayCredit: PA
Joshua knows he needs to win to keep his top-level career aliveCredit: Getty More

ANTHONY JOSHUA has joked he will lure heavyweight rival Tyson Fury back into boxing should he beat Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch.The Gypsy King called time on his glistening career in April after brutally knocking out Dillian Whyte at Wembley to retain his WBC title.
British star Anthony Joshua believes Tyson Fury will come out of retirement in the near futureCredit: PA
Fury called time on his career after stopping Dillian Whyte at Wembley in AprilCredit: AFP
Rumours swirled that he could set foot back inside the squared circle in December to face Derek Chisora in a trilogy bout.
But after the pair failed to agree terms on a third meeting, Fury once again confirmed he remains retired on his 34th birthday last week.
However Joshua believes that the Mancunian won’t stay inactive for long, as he stated he is already getting bored as shown by him buying a dog along with a £300,000 Ferrari.
Speaking on a media call ahead of his rematch to face Usyk, Joshua was asked whether he can bring Fury out of retirement should he beat the unbeaten Ukrainian.
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To which a laughing AJ said: “Yeah I can bring him out of retirement, 100 per cent.
“I think he’ll bring himself out of retirement, you hear what I’m saying? I think he’ll bring himself out of retirement, s***…
“There’s nothing for him to do, I think he’s not thought of his life after boxing, so I think he’s pretty bored.
“He’ll end up getting a dog, getting a Ferrari to keep yourself busy.
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“There’s not much else to do except to walk your dog now.
“So yeah, I think he will come out of retirement soon.”
Boxing fans were quick to comment on Joshua’s view, as one user tweeted: “If AJ gets a dodgy win Saturday then Tyson Fury will put AJ into retirement.”
Another messaged: “In a good place there Anthony. Go champ!!”
A third added: “AJ the landlord. Of course Fury’s gonna comeback for that pay check. He fights for money.”
Joshua has also revealed how he plans to fight Fury twice in the future as he outlined his desire to dominate the glamour division. More

MATCHROOM chief Eddie Hearn has hit out at people for criticising Anthony Joshua, claiming the Brit heavyweight has “made boxing the size it is”.Hearn, 43, also fired a shot at AJ’s former broadcast partner Sky.
Eddie Hearn has hit out at those who have criticised Anthony JoshuaCredit: AFP
AJ takes on Oleksandr Usyk in their hotly anticipated rematch on SaturdayCredit: Getty
Watford warrior Joshua, 32, is bidding to become a three-time world champion when he takes on Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
AJ came under scrutiny for his first defeat to the Ukrainian last year, and some pundits have suggested he could RETIRE from boxing if he loses the rematch this weekend.
But Hearn has slammed the criticism of his fighter and also aimed a dig at Sky, suggesting AJ is responsible for much of their success.
Joshua left Sky earlier this year in a huge £100million deal to sign for DAZN, although the former have paid £25m to show Saturday’s fight in the UK and Ireland.
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Hearn said: “I don’t like the fact that with everything Anthony Joshua’s done for this sport, a lot of people want to turn their backs and under appreciate the guy’s resume and the role that he has played for all of us.
“Without Anthony Joshua, me, Matchroom, we wouldn’t have had our success.
“A lot of people wouldn’t be in a job at Sky and I’m telling you now, I’m not even sure Sky would be doing boxing so let’s give this young man the credit.
“Without this guy, there wouldn’t be YouTube outlets interested in the sport, you wouldn’t have the businesses flying out around the world.”
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🥊AJ vs Usyk 2 confirmed fight time, TV and live stream info for Saturday’s blockbuster
Hearn went on to credit Joshua for turning boxing into a sport that regularly sells out arenas all over the world for huge pay-per-view fights.
Over 60,000 fans were at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to see AJ outpointed by Usyk last September, while 90,000 watched the Brit knock out Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley in 2017.
And Hearn continued: “He has made boxing the size it is and we need to be thankful for this guy and give him that respect.
“He’s a great individual, he’s a competitor, he’s a winner and I take it personally when I see people switch and make little comments because they’re thinking about their company rather than thinking about a man who has helped their company so much.” More

DILLIAN WHYTE believes Anthony Joshua only has one way to beat Oleksandr Usyk this weekend.British heavyweight ace AJ fights the Ukrainian champion in Saudi Arabia on Saturday in a bid to win back his world titles.
Anthony Joshua has been told what to do if he wants to beat Oleksandr UsykCredit: AP
Dillian Whyte hopes AJ wins so he can get a rematch chance himselfCredit: Getty
Failure to do so could see Joshua fall off the map in his bid for world domination.
But victory opens the door for several money-spinning fights, including Tyson Fury and Whyte.
The latter has already fought Joshua, losing to his compatriot in 2015.
But Whyte is eager for a rematch, and he has now given AJ tips on how to beat Usyk and make it happen.
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Whyte reckons Joshua must dig deep and find his old-school aggressive style of boxing.
He adds that AJ must go on the front foot to stop Usyk calling the shots.
And Whyte sincerely hopes Joshua goes on to secure victory this weekend.
He told Sky: “It’s a massive fight, the biggest fight of his career.
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🥊AJ vs Usyk 2 confirmed fight time, TV and live stream info for Saturday’s blockbuster
”I do expect him to bounce back, he’s a British fighter like me and I only support our own, so I do hope he gets the job done. It’s good for me if he wins as well.
“I can understand that [rediscovering his aggressive side], because I’m of the same mindset as well.
“In my last fight [against Tyson Fury] I wasn’t as aggressive as I normally am, I’ve said the same thing to myself, I need to rediscover that aggression.
“I think it’s the right mindset he needs going into the fight, it’s the only way he wins the fight.
“When we fought, we fought twice, both fights we had there was a lot of aggression between me and him in the fight, that’s the difference between fighting me and fighting Usyk, that aggression wasn’t there.
“He was sort of trying to outbox someone who has been boxing for 25/30 years.
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“I believe if he revisits that aggression he had for me, he does a much better job and probably beats Usyk and knocks him out this time.
“Me and him are similar in a lot of ways, we come forward and throw a lot of punches, are aggressive and enforce ourselves on our opponents, I think they’ll be trying to get him back to that.” More

OLEKSANDR USYK has accused Tyson Fury of being two-faced after being labelled a “blown-up middleweight” that “can’t take bodyshots”.Ahead of Usyk’s rematch with Anthony Joshua on Saturday night, Fury took to social media to post a tutorial video on how to beat the Ukrainian.
Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua face each other again on Saturday nightCredit: Getty
Fury, 33, goaded Usyk in an online tutorialCredit: AFP
During the clip, the Gypsy King said: “Just another random Tuesday night with Andy Lee.
“This is how Anthony Joshua needs to attack Oleksandr Usyk’s body.
“I know the blown up-middleweight can’t take body shots.”
Usyk, 35, was left unimpressed by Fury’s comments.
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He said: “I want to laugh every time I watch him and listen to him.
“He told me completely different things to my face, but I am not going to tell you what he told me.
“I know we are going to be fighting one day.”
Fury, 34, recently reiterated his boxing retirement, but his promoters Bob Arum and Frank Warren are both hopeful that he could return for a unification bout against the winner of Usyk and Joshua.
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Speaking out on Fury’s “retirement”, AJ told Sky Sports: “Unless he’s 100 per cent retired, you’ve got to beat Fury as well.
“This isn’t about Fury, with all due respect. That’s just my view on that.
“As it stands you’re just a winner, you’re a winner at the end of the day. There’s always another challenge out there.
“Until you retire you’re always going to be challenged to prove you’re the best in the world.
“The minute you say you’re the best is the minute you should pack up. That’s enough on that Tyson Fury situation.”
Usyk, meanwhile, has taken his training to ridiculous extremes as he prepares to face Joshua again on Saturday night.
His manager Egis Klimas revealed yesterday that his man has been holding his breath for nearly five minutes, nearly passing out, while training for AJ. More