JEDDAH KNIGHT
AJ keen to prove he’s a heavyweight force again with Usyk comeback win
ANTHONY JOSHUA claims he will again prove he is the comeback king by regaining his world heavyweight titles from Oleksandr Usyk.
The British fighter has vowed to reclaim his WBA Super, IBF and WBO crowns in Jeddah on August 20 and become a threetime world champion.
Joshua says he has overcome adversity before in his life and will do again to set up a possible superfight against Tyson Fury for the undisputed crown.
He said: “The great thing is I’ve got a second chance.
“What got me into boxing in the first place was when I was a youngster, I got in a little bit of trouble now and again.
“I was blessed with a second chance through boxing and I took it with both hands.
“If you know me and my story, you will know I’m the comeback king. You can put me down but it’s difficult to keep me down because I will always keep my spirits high.
“The hunger is still there, just keep the motivation high. Blips happen, things happen in life, but resilience and mental toughness will always prevail.
“We’re still on the road to undisputed. It’s just a little blip on the road and I’m focused on the target sitting over there. I’m focused on the goal and, God willing, I’ll become a three-time champion of the world.”
Joshua, 32, has changed trainers to Robert Garcia for the rematch and admits he got his tactics wrong in his unanimous points defeat to Usyk last September. He added: “He bust my ass for some rounds and I had to take that defeat like a man.
“I hold myself accountable, I’m someone who admits when I’m wrong and last September I was wrong and he was right.
“I simply have to reverse that role on August 20. I don’t like to overcomplicate the situation because there is simplicity in genius.
“If you keep things simple you can achieve great things.”
Usyk, 35, appeared at the press conference with Joshua in Jeddah wearing the yellow and blue colours of his Ukrainian homeland and he had volunteered to fight the Russian invaders.
The unbeaten two-weight world champ claims he will be fighting for everyone in Ukraine when he steps into the ring.
Usyk said: “As we all know, we are not in the best condition back home right now but we are here doing our job.
“Together with my team we are working hard to achieve our goals.”
Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk added: “In February or March we had to face the challenge of war in our country. Now we are here, representing our country with pride in our hearts.”