Anthony Joshua is in no position to lose tonight’s fight against Oleksandr Usyk. But the odds are stacked against him, and almost
[FILES] Anthony Joshua reflected on his heavyweight defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, who claimed the IBF, WBA and WBO titles in LondonJoshua came out of Wednesday’s presser ahead of the battle looking like a guy who knows that his career, going forward, depends on today’s outcome and is determined to ensure he succeeds. But he also looks like a guy who knows that the obstacle against him is tough.
Former World Boxing Heavyweight Champion, Deontay Wilder, who, himself, has been, almost, in Joshua’s shoes, believes the fight might even be easier for Usyk than the last battle in London. “But this is boxing at the end of the day and you just never know how it’s going to pan out until the end of it. At the end of the day, I wish them all the best of luck and I hope they get out of the ring just like they came in, safe and sound.”
But Joshua has different ideas, he said during a presser on Thursday: “I’m not thinking about retirement. I’ve got one of the biggest fights of my life coming up and if you were thinking about retiring, it would be a massive doubt in your mind. People will always ask questions. Me, I still want to continue. I love it.“But it’s crazy to talk about retiring when I lost to one of the best fighters in the world. What sort of nonsense is that? I respect people’s opinions, but I don’t want to retire.
“It’s playing out in 190 countries all over the planet and the eyes of the world will be on me. It’s the ultimate heavyweight championship fight with a lot on the line. “It helps the people around me. I’ve surrounded myself with most of the same people from the very start, they know me, they know what makes me tick and that helps to create the perfect training camp environment,” he said.
He acknowledges that there would be critics, which he added that he has had his entire career, adding, however, “I know that I fight best after a loss. That defeat sticks in your gut and pushes you to get better and work that much harder.” Apart from the fighter, himself, everybody around Joshua also feels he has a bright chance against Usyk.
“By the time the bell rings at the end of the sixth round, I want this fight to be over, or for Usyk to be tired and damaged to be in a place he really doesn’t want to be. He can’t let this guy get into a rhythm, and that’s what he did too easily in the first fight. I do not think this fight goes the distance, and I believe Anthony Joshua wins this fight by knockout.”
“When you’ve shared the ring with him, at least you’ve had that experience, at least you know what to expect. It doesn’t mean you can overcome it, but I feel like it’s a lot easier to fight Oleksandr Usyk the second time around. “If you got a little brother. If you try to keep up, he moves too much, you’ve got to grab him and put all that weight on him and let him feel that you’re the stronger one and this is a big guy fight and there isn’t any way he can beat you in a big guy fight.
Usyk exudes confidence. The fighter, who left the rings to fight in the war against Russia, knows his countrymen are with him. Usyk left Ukraine in March for a training camp in Poland and more recently in Dubai. He has had to spend so much time away from his family — he has a wife, Yekaterina, and three kids — and that has not been easy.
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