Joshua v Usyk 25th September - Tottenham Stadium

[Master]

Anthony Joshua's team "don't know s*** about boxing" fumes Dillian Whyte

Joshua and Whyte have had one of the great British heavyweight rivalries, but the top contender feels that Joshua shouldn't get rid of his coach Rob McCracken and bring in an American trainer

Dillian Whyte has claimed that the team Anthony Joshua has around him "don't know s*** about boxing" as the Brit returns from a trip around some of America's top gyms.

Joshua spent time in the United States meeting with some of the best trainers in the world, but insists that he won't be leaving head coach Rob McCracken.

Whyte is one of Joshua's fiercest rivals, having fought him in both the professional and amateur ranks.

But he thinks that he should keep McCracken, and needs to come to a personal decision about what's next for his career.

Joshua has implied that he may draft in a top coach to work with McCracken as a manager of a team, of sorts, having already brought in Angel Fernandes and Joby Clayton.

"I think Robert McCracken is a good trainer personally," Whyte told iFL TV. "A lot of people give him a lot of s***.

"They say 'oh Rob is this or that', but he's made a lot of Olympic champions and a lot of world champions and he was a good fighter himself.

"A lot of these guys who are working with Joshua, they don't know s*** about boxing, all these guys are pulling him in too many directions.

"I can understand wanting an American because of their history in the heavyweight division, but what's that going to be, four trainers? Does he leave Rob? I don't know.

"It's a bit mad, the whole situation, it's like 'what are you doing?' So I don't know."

Whyte is expected to be installed as mandatory challenger for Tyson Fury's world heavyweight title later this month despite pulling out of his scheduled bout with Otto Wallin due to a shoulder injury.

And it seems inevitable that regardless of how his career pans out in the future that he and Joshua will meet again inside the ring, given their history.

But he feels that Joshua needs to make a decision about his camp quickly, as his world title rematch with Oleksandr Usyk looms in the early part of next year.

"You can have a team of people, but people need to be on the same wavelength.

"Sometimes it does work because if two guys are on the same wavelength, my team is good.

"It's a bit mad what's going on there, it's his life, his camp... But he needs to make his decisions and see what he wants to do.

"He needs to sit down and have words with himself, he doesn't really say much about anything, but sometimes it can cause even more confusion."

Joshua immediately triggered his rematch clause with Usyk so that he could organise a second bout with the Ukrainian, despite being comfortably beaten when they fought last month.

And Whyte says that he lost the bout not because of his team, like Joshua has implied, but because he didn't throw hands like he was known for in his early career.

"The rematch is fast approaching as well," Whyte continued. "You have to make the right adaptation at the right time... In my opinion he just didn't want to throw hands in the fight.

"He was overthinking in the fight, overanalysing certain things, sometimes you have to just say 'f*** it' and throw something.

"I throw punches and miss them all the time, but I don't care because you just have to let s*** go sometimes."

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxin...acken-25323654

[Master]

OL OR NOTHING Anthony Joshua ‘will lose again’ to Oleksandr Usyk in rematch, says heavyweight contender Luis Ortiz

HEAVYWEIGHT BOXER Luis Ortiz believes Anthony Joshua will lose again to Oleksandr Usyk in the rematch.

The heavyweight bout is scheduled to take place in March after Usyk beat AJ at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last month.

The Ukrainian was convincing in his dominant win as he claimed the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight world title belts.

And because of that, Ortiz thinks things will be difficult for the Brit once again.

Asked about Joshua's chances against Usyk in the rematch, Luiz told FightHype.com: "He'll lose again."

Joshua, 32, has travelled to California in an attempt to find a plan to beat Usyk next time around.

He has been visiting gyms and picking the brains of some of the top trainers and fighters, taking on board their advice to formulate a plan to win back his belts.

He has already visited Canelo Alvarez and his trainer Eddy Reynoso, as well as Virgil Hunter, who masterminded double world champion Andre Ward’s immaculate unbeaten career.

Tyson Fury's trainer, SugarHill Steward, believes Joshua has what it takes to overcome Usyk - just as he did in the rematch against Andy Ruiz jr.

He said: "He has to jump into that fight with Usyk, the plan's already been laid out. He's done it once before with Ruiz.

"This is just another step for Anthony Joshua - something he overcame last time and something he can overcome again this time."

And it seems Joshua could take a different approach to secure a victory over Usyk in March.

AJ has promised to be ruthless and treat his next bout against the 34-year-old as a war - he is "done" trying to outbox Usyk.

He said: "I'm done with f***ing losing. I'm done with trying to learn the sweet science.

"The referee might get thrown on the floor in the next fight because this is war.

"It's just straight war, I'm annoyed. I'm boiling up even speaking about it - it's that passion to win."

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/boxin...ua-usyk-ortiz/

[TitoFan]

IMO this is a case of "the longer it takes for the rematch to get here... the worse AJ's chances become."

It's in March, so by then his chances will be pretty slim. (Of course, a lot depends on how Usyk shows up for the fight).

But between now and March, AJ will have ample opportunities to: second-guess himself... change directions... mull over all the reasons why he lost to Usyk... talk to a lot more people... etc.

Yep. By March he'll be totally confused.

[Master]

IMO this is a case of "the longer it takes for the rematch to get here... the worse AJ's chances become."

It's in March, so by then his chances will be pretty slim. (Of course, a lot depends on how Usyk shows up for the fight).

But between now and March, AJ will have ample opportunities to: second-guess himself... change directions... mull over all the reasons why he lost to Usyk... talk to a lot more people... etc.

Yep. By March he'll be totally confused.

AJ does tend to over think things and get himself in a muddle.

[Primo Carnera]

IMO this is a case of "the longer it takes for the rematch to get here... the worse AJ's chances become."

It's in March, so by then his chances will be pretty slim. (Of course, a lot depends on how Usyk shows up for the fight).

But between now and March, AJ will have ample opportunities to: second-guess himself... change directions... mull over all the reasons why he lost to Usyk... talk to a lot more people... etc.

Yep. By March he'll be totally confused.

AJ does tend to over think things and get himself in a muddle.

Certainly appears that way.

[Master]

You know when you have fought poorly when your victor has to defend you to the media.


Oleksandr Usyk has leapt to the defence of the man he beat to become a world heavyweight champion last month. Anthony Joshua has come under some criticism for his performance against the Ukrainian challenger, but Usyk believes the boxing world has been "harsh" on the Briton.

Joshua's latest title challenger had only fought twice at this weight as a professional, forcing Chazz Witherspoon into a seventh-round retirement before unanimously beating Dereck Chisora on points.

While the champion had the edge in terms of height, weight and power, Usyk proved why he is ranked as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.

He outwitted and outboxed Joshua, winning by unanimous decision and maintaining his unbeaten record.

The defeated fighter received criticism from many quarters, with many wondering why his performances had been so poor in a fight he was expected to dominate.

But Usyk thinks that criticism is unfair, and backed the Briton to be a "challenging" opponent once again when they meet next year for their rematch.

"It's unfortunate to hear that they are being harsh on Joshua's performance, because I was there in the ring with him and he was very good," Usyk told DAZN.

"I really do not know where they find grounds for criticism. It was truly a brilliant fight.

"I am now preparing for another challenging match against him next year and I will need to be at my best to keep my championships."

He did warn his opponent, though, that he is fully focussed on making sure the belt he won will still be in his possession after the rematch.

"The day after I won the heavyweight championships, I felt calm. Now, a month later, I feel the same," Usyk added.

"I am very proud to be the new champion but I mostly focus on just living my life and continuing to train hard in the gym in anticipation of the rematch."

While Usyk seems happy with life as a heavyweight champion, Joshua has himself been searching for answers as to how he can up his game ahead of their second meeting.

The Londoner has spent time in the United States, meeting with world-renowned trainers to "get some new teachings".

It has also added to speculation that Joshua is looking to make changes to his corner, as he did after his shock loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019.

Coach Rob McCracken is rumoured to be the one in the firing line, while the fighter has admitted he feels those in his corner have to improve the way they work together.

Despite all that noise, though, Usyk says he is uninterested in what is going on in Joshua's camp, and is simply focussing on his own preparations.

"I am not sure who will train Joshua for the rematch," the Ukrainian said. "I have seen the speculation about who he may hire for next year but it does not matter to us who trains him.

"Our goal is to be prepared for everything and I train to improve my own chances, not based on my opponent.

"He also promised to be more aggressive and dangerous in the rematch. If that is the case, great. I'd be glad to experience that side of Joshua. I am sure it will be another brilliant fight."

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...cid=entnewsntp