Johnny Nelson predicts Anthony Joshua ‘will be gone’ after losing Usyk
Johnny Nelson has predicted that Anthony Joshua could follow in the footsteps of Tyson Fury’s retirement if he loses this weekend.
The former WBO heavyweight king will be a keen observer when British golden boy Joshua faces Oleksandr Usyk in a thrilling rematch on Saturday.
Joshua ended up blundering in a unified decision against the Ukrainian in London 11 months before Usyk claimed the WBA Super, IBF, IBO and WBO world heavyweight titles.
The 32-year-old has a chance to get his revenge this weekend at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia and the fight will be even more significant as the aforementioned Fury’s recently relinquited Ring Magazine title will also be lost. threatened in an empty slot.
But Nelson, who extravagantly announced last month that he would beat former undisputed cruiser champion Usyk if they met, believes it’s now or never for ‘AJ’.
Nelson talked to Sports sky about fellow countryman Joshua this week:
“He had to go back and cover his wounds, emotionally as well as physically.
“Things to be said about him: how good he is, how good he is or not. He had to deal with all that and deal with the loss itself.”
Streaming giant DAZN, to whom Joshua pledged his broadcasting future in June in a groundbreaking deal, will show the fight in the US, as well as more than 190 territories, including Canada, Spain Japan, Germany, Italy, Japan and Poland, while Sky Sports Box Office will broadcast the fight in the UK and Ireland after paying a staggering £23m to do so.
Fury remains the WBC champion, despite announcing his retirement from the sport again last week, and sanctioning body president, Mauricio Sulaiman has given him until August 26 to confirm his retirement in writing before title status will be reviewed.
Joshua has tasted defeat before, not only losing to Usyk but also in a shock to Andy Ruiz Jr, a Mexican living in California in June 2019. He was dropped four times and stopped in seven laps at Madison Square Garden in New York before taking it back. belts at Diriyah Gymnasium in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
“Now he has to recharge himself, reset, rethink how he is going to deal with this fight. Now we might be looking at a completely different animal because he knows what Usyk is capable of, he knows what mistakes he made.
“That’s the mentality of a boxer: You always think, ‘I’m going to be the world champion, I’m going to be this.’ He doesn’t want to hang around, he wants to be the best guy.”
And while defeat in the desert may not be an option for Joshua, Nelson thinks we’ll see him leave the sport if he doesn’t get the win.
“If Usyk defeats him, I think he will walk away.
“With this war here, it is very important to [Joshua’s] career, because he knows this could be the last big battle he’s in.
“Standing back and being a gatekeeper for anyone is not in his DNA.”
You can watch the interview below courtesy of Sky Sports Boxing on Twitter:
“If Usyk beats him, I think ‘AJ’ will walk away.”
Johnny Nelson is in town for # UsykJoshua2 pic.twitter.com/HZNfS5O2UN
– Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) August 15, 2022