By: Sean Crose
“I’m a little heavier than last time,” said the WBA, IBF and WBO, Oleksandr Usyk. Sports sky. “I’m not sure how much weight I’m going to step into the ring, we’ll see it on Friday. I am not a big forecaster. You’ll see Saturday night, I’ll just do my job, what I have to do.” Usyk may be tight-lipped about how much weight he gained in preparation for Saturday’s heavyweight title fight with Anthony Joshua, but speculation among boxing fans and the media has also been rampant, with one Some people, like Amir Khan, say the Ukrainian has added up to 30 pounds of weight.
There is a kind of school of thought found online that argues that, since Usyk defeated Joshua in their first bout last September, the significantly larger Joshua will fight more fiercely in the rematch. match this weekend. The fact that Joshua has now teamed up with American trainer Robert Garcia, who is known for helping turn strong boxers into success stories, only fuels that speculation. In preparation to face a more aggressive Joshua, then, Team Usyk decided to beef up their own men, presumably in the hope that he would finish Joshua before the final bell on Saturday (which is what he almost did in the closing moments of their first match).
Joshua promoter and Matchroom curator Eddie Hearn has made no secret of his belief that Joshua must turn his second battle with Usyk into a war of aggression. “The key to this fight in my opinion,” he said ES News, referring to Usyk, “is that once this sixth round is over, this guy has to get out of there or he’ll be spoiled or in a place where he really wishes he’d never want to go back.” again. With Hearn, Joshua needs to keep his man comfortable in the ring this weekend. “You let this guy (Usyk) get into your rhythm,” Hearn added, “he could be unbeatable.”
If Usyk’s weight gain is to counter such a bold strategy by team Joshua, it’s likely that both boxers will try to wrap things up early on Saturday, something that could make the rematch exciting. This guide becomes more interesting. Amir Khan recently said: “He looks like a complete natural heavyweight. Sun after personally seeing Usyk in the camp. “He’s big and looks very strong.” Of course, the same can be said of the towering Joshua, who always walks into the ring in top shape. On Saturday, the world will find out which man has used the better strategy.
