AJ BACKING TONY AGAIN

ANTHONY JOSHUA is backing Tony Bellew to repeat his win over David Haye in Saturday’s rematch at The O2.

Joshua says he was one of the few people not surprised by Bellew’s 11-round stoppage of Haye in their first fight in March 2017 (left).

The WBA Super, IBF and WBO heavyweight champ claims he always believed his pal could win and tips him again. “I wouldn’t call it an upset that Bellew won the first fight,” he said.

“I believed in Bellew from the start and feel he will do it again. If he did it once, if he ‘fluked’ it once, he will definitely believe he can do it again.”

Joshua claims Bellew will be confident because Haye didn’t hurt him in the first fight, despite his weight and reach advantage.

“He has that confidence in himself,” AJ added. “He took Haye’s best shots in the first fight and didn’t go down.”