USYK UPS THE ANTE
Olek: AJ a warrior and will be better
by and
OLEKSANDER USYK says he is expecting a very different animal in Anthony Joshua the next time they step into the ring together.
The Ukrainian rocked the boxing world by outpointing the British heavyweight over 12 rounds at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the end of September.
And the deposed IBF, WBA and WBO champ almost immediately activated the rematch clause in their contracts, meaning the pair will fight again in the spring.
Usyk, 34, reckons he will be under no pressure in the rematch, which will heaped on the Watford-born fighter.
He said: “I don’t feel any pressure now. But I can say that I do realise the next fight will not be very similar to the previous one.
“And I’m pretty sure that when I step into the ring I will have in front of me a different Anthony Joshua who will be struggling hard to get a victory and who will not have any specific pressure on him because of the result of the previous fight.
“I’m not thinking much about the first fight because I’m fully concentrating on the next one, when I step back into the ring and box and do the things I want to do.
“I can’t say he surprised me in any way. Not because I don’t want to say this, but because he actually didn’t surprise me in any way really.
Skills
“He’s a good guy, a life-loving guy. He’s a true warrior, a fighter, and he will improve his skills. I really love challenges.
“Anthony Joshua is our next opponent no matter who else calls me out.”
And Usyk, who became only the fourth cruiserweight in history to make the step up and take the crown from one of the big boys, says his corner had to tell him to stick to his strategy of hand speed and rhythm – and not attempt to knock out AJ.
The man who has become a national hero in his homeland said: “I had a certain strategy for the fight.
“We used to plan and work it out with my trainer before the fight.
“And every minute when we had a break between the rounds my trainer would come over to me in the corner and remind me and tell me what part of the strategy to implement.
“At this point of time, this has been the biggest fight of my career – but it wasn’t the hardest.
“I put my speed into it, punched him but then I was losing my rhythm.
“Then when I came back to my corner my trainer said, ‘You are trying to knock him out but have to do the work, you have to throw your front hand jab.
“If you try to knock him out you’re going to lose your rhythm.’
“There are some things that I will not require for my rematch that I required for the first fight.
“But I know there are other things I will require and implement in the next fight that I did not do in the first fight.”