Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk 2

[Master]

At the neural level, at the psychiatric level, AJ was marketed into being this huge Adonis and he went along with it. But the fire was really never there. I give him credit for his victory over Klit, and this will FOREVER be looked upon as his shining moment in the sun. So AJ in a way can sort of be looked upon as a Leon Spinks or a Buster Douglas kind of flash in the pan really. A big huge guy like that, ripped with muscles, he fills all the visual reqs and checks all the boxes. Thing was and still is, if the fire aint there, the fire aint there.

Leon and Buster never successfully defended the titles the way AJ did. AJ is better than those two. If I had to compare AJ to past heavyweights it would be Ernie Terrell, 6 ft 6inches, muscle, paper champ whilst the real heavyweight was Ali.

[Master]

Anthony Joshua has revealed that Robert Garcia is not actually his main boxing coach ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.

Instead, that honour falls to Rob McCracken’s former second, Angel Fernandez.

The British superstar was speaking on The DAZN Boxing Show on Thursday when he made the stunning revelation.

He chatted to reporters at a press conference to promote his second fight with Usyk as both men touched down in London for the second leg of their promotional world tour.

AJ was then asked about his decision to change trainers, which has been the subject of much debate, including appointing Garcia, who has won countless titles as a boxer and a coach.

But Joshua admitted he let Fernandez influence his next move.

He revealed: “I think it’s important that my coach made the decisions, Angel Fernandez.

“That’s the guy we appointed as the UK head trainer so I felt like it was important for Angel to choose.

“I like Robert Garcia, I think he’s very talented so I put his name on the list along with about four or five others, so he went to see different people and then I left it to Angel and the team to say ‘look, this is who we want to appoint.’”

Joshua was quick not to shut the door completely on McCracken, having spent almost the entirety of his career at the Team GB setup in Sheffield, adding: “I don’t call it parting with Rob – just in a training capacity, yeah for sure.

“The respect’s still there, Rob is welcome to the training camp at anytime and give his two pence.

“I feel every fighter right, in my opinion, should be able to go out into the world and learn from other people.

“It’s so important for a fighter to develop their skills with different coaches, don’t feel locked down and feel like you’re parting ways because you’re trying something new or you’re trying to learn something new.

“Yeah I’m with a different team for the fight but that doesn’t mean that I’m just parting ways.

“Who knows, in the future I might say, ‘Hey Rob, can you come back and train me?’

“It’s not like because I’ve parted ways now that’s what it is forever.”

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...edb887dd1cf167

[Spicoli]

At the neural level, at the psychiatric level, AJ was marketed into being this huge Adonis and he went along with it. But the fire was really never there. I give him credit for his victory over Klit, and this will FOREVER be looked upon as his shining moment in the sun. So AJ in a way can sort of be looked upon as a Leon Spinks or a Buster Douglas kind of flash in the pan really. A big huge guy like that, ripped with muscles, he fills all the visual reqs and checks all the boxes. Thing was and still is, if the fire aint there, the fire aint there.

Leon and Buster never successfully defended the titles the way AJ did. AJ is better than those two. If I had to compare AJ to past heavyweights it would be Ernie Terrell, 6 ft 6inches, muscle, paper champ whilst the real heavyweight was Ali.

And neither one came remotely close to having the title pre packaged for them the way AJ did and they remained in underdog status. Where would AJ be had he squared off with the Tokyo Tyson as well as Holyfield waiting for him 7 months later. All hypothetical we know but thus far I have to give Buster the nod for coming back from most overall career adversity/low point..if only a night .

[Master]

Fury seemingly sailed off into the sunset earlier this year following his knockout win over Dillian Whyte at Wembley, but ‘The Gypsy King’ hasn’t definitively ruled out a return to the squared circle.

He’s even suggested that if Joshua can get past Oleksandr Usyk in their August rematch, he’ll battle AJ under the right set of circumstances.

The stipulations, however, could pose a problem, with Fury wanting the pair to fight for free at Wembley Stadium with the contest being broadcast on free-to-air television in the United Kingdom.

Eddie Hearn, unsurprisingly, didn’t really believe Tyson was being serious when he spoke to DAZN about the offer.

“He’s a genius Tyson Fury because no one ever questions what he says,” Hearn said.

“On the one hand, he said you’ve got to pay him 500 million to come out of retirement, and in the next sentence, he says he will fight AJ for free on non-PPV. It’s absolutely brilliant.

“The only way Tyson Fury’s going to fight again is for a bucket load of money, and Tyson Fury will go to Timbuktu or Mars for a bucket load of money.”

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...c75c5cf5a987db

[Master]

Anthony Joshua's training partner Frazer Clarke has revealed that the Brit intends to 'outhustle' Oleksandr Usyk with educated pressure. Clarke is currently helping 'AJ' with preparations in Loughborough for his rematch next month and 'has not missed a session'.

According to 'The Eraser', the focus of the camp has been on mixing aggression with composure. 'AJ' was criticised for not using his size and strength more in the first fight back in September as he dropped his WBA (super), WBO, and IBF heavyweight titles to the Ukrainian at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Now, the Watford powerhouse is expected to change his approach for the August 20 date and build upon the blueprint laid out by Derek Chisora for success against 'The Cat'.

"All focus has been on Usyk, and on outhustling him with educated pressure. Although this is an awkward fight against a very skilled heavyweight, just like Tyson Fury is, AJ has his mind on the game for this," Clarke told The Telegraph.

"Listen, the words Tyson Fury haven't even been muttered in our gym because we know that the job at hand is a difficult one. There's no two ways about it, Usyk is one of the more skillful heavyweight champions we've had in recent years. On a skill level, Usyk and Fury are at the top of the tree, even if you go back in history. Just going in there and mauling him like people are suggesting, it's never going to happen. Nor will trying to outbox him.

"AJ will definitely take a more positive approach from him, and we know Usyk can be outhustled. We saw that in his fights against Derek Chisora, and his first heavyweight opponent, Chaz Witherspoon. Let's be honest, this isn't an amateur fight, this is professional fighting, this is street fighting with a referee and gloves and rules so you've got to do whatever you can to unsettle this man and use all your attributes."

Usyk has typically been given his toughest fights by boxers that adopt a highly-aggressive and physical approach. Chisora was able to cause Usyk problems early on in their contest back in 2020 by applying constant pressure and attempting to out-muscle his foe. Joshua will look to fight a similar fight to 'Del Boy' but with more awareness of what is coming back at him.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...df3f7746faf6bc

[Mark TKO]

fair enough but hardly a reveal - we all know what tactics he has to employ to get the job done. Its the only way to win.

Usyk knows as well....