Here is a selection of quotes from today’s Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua 2 press conference in London ahead of their rematch in the coastal city of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday August 20.
Oleksandr Usyk: I am not fighting for money or any recognition. I am just doing my job now and will continue fighting until my heart keeps beating. I am not expecting anything from Anthony Joshua, but I know that he will be different, but so will I.”
Anthony Joshua: “In terms of old AJ, same old G, I’m just doing what I’m doing. Grafting away. It is a rough and tough sport. Fighting these lefties is a nightmare! And I cannot make the same mistake twice. I am hungry and desperate but at the end of the day how I perform will speak.”
Robert Garcia, trainer of Anthony Joshua: “Seeing the size difference, the height, the reach, the weight – everything is in Anthony’s advantage. We’ve got to take advantage of that. We’ve got to train him to focus on that and come fight night do what we need to do to win.”
Good for Robert Garcia built his reputation to get the pick for these special assignments. There’s always good opportunities for special coaches, in all sports. But I doubt Garcia had a enough time with AJ to make much difference. Garcia is saying nothing new. We all know AJ needs to make use of his physical advantages lol.
Not sure Robert is the right trainer to improve AJ’s skills.. Maybe he can teach him how to become more aggressive and how to pressure Usyk more to close the fight with a knock out..
Maybe if Garcia had a couple of camps to work with Joshua he could tweak him a bit but unfortunately since he got knocked out by Ruiz, AJ has turned into a boxer. And that is good enough to beat a lot of guys but Usyk is a far superior boxer. Don’t see much difference here
Darin, good points. I agree, Usyk is a much better boxer and utilizes his foot work very well even when he moved up into the heavyweight division. Joshua will have to cut off the ring and try to catch Usyk on the ropes to slow him down. However, Joshua will be busy working overtime to do so since Usyk understands to value in lateral movement. One thing I have noticed is when Joshua develops fatigue during a fight, he tends to get more flat-footed and stationery making himself a target especially at angles. I see Usyk taking full advantage of that opening. Usyk on a UD.
AJ will probably change his style for the fight, for the first couple of rounds that is, but boxers nearly always revert to their own style after a few rounds and then do what they do naturally.
I am probably wrong though, AJ could stick to his game plan though, he did against Parker and second fight against Ruiz. Lets see.
Henry, good points. Yep, AJ will look good for small set of rounds and fatigue will force him revert back to his usual flat-footed stance with the anemic jabs.
You know how that old saying goes…
It’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters
It’s the size of the FIGHT in the dog.
This is the second time Joshua was out fought by a considerably smaller man & lost.
I’d like to see Anthony fight Deontay Wilder.
Whether he wins or loses this fight…
He has skills, he just lacks TOUGHNESS.
Personally, I feel Wilder would have the edge against Joshua. Wilder’s crazy power in his right hand is a wild card against Joshua. Wilder is dangerous with his right hand at all times during a fight. I would think as the fight progresses, Wilder would have plenty of chances to time and nail Joshua with the right cross or the counter hook.
The first Fury fight Wilder was much better being lighter, he moved much better (for what he was as a fighter) and threw quicker punches. The more weight he put on the more plodding he got and his snap he had in his right hand was lost and became just a heavy punch. Yep I was a Wilder fan because of what he brought to the fight game.
When Joshua said ” Fighting these lefties is a nightmare ” he said it all. Size, height, reach, weight advantage, he had that in the first fight, except creativity, better ring IQ than Usyk, and that is what he needs, elements that can’t be given to him by a trainer, not matter if this trainer is Eddie Futch or Manny Steward, furthermore by not having that, the result could be the same as the first fight or a stoppage loss with an Usyk more dominant this time
If Anthony Joshua it’s over. Your career is done.