Usyk describes Joshua as “Nothing special” in the first fight
Oleksandr Usyk insists that the threat posed by Anthony Joshua in their first fight was not enough to cause him problems.
The world’s unified heavyweight champion is in Saudi Arabia ahead of his rematch against Brit on Saturday.
Usyk unanimously overcame ‘AJ’ at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September, claiming the 32-year-old’s WBA Super, IBF, IBO and WBO titles in the process.
And as Joshua prepares his bid to be a three times global ruler In his rematch with fellow Olympic champion at the Jeddah Superdome, the Ukrainian has stated that the first match between the pair is relatively regular.
In preparation for this weekend’s rematch, Usyk’s post-battle interview from their first encounter resurfaced – and the Ukrainians made it clear that the first fight went as planned:
“The fight went exactly as I expected.
“There are a few moments [in the first fight] when Anthony pushed me hard, but nothing special.”
The three scorers in the pair’s first match gave the scores 117-112, 115-113 and 116-112 in favor of Usyk, who warmed up Joshua with wins over Chazz Witherspoon and Derek. Chisora in the top league of the sport.
Usyk, 35 years old, person cleaning in cruiser detachment before moving up to heavyweight, winning every belt in the 200-pound weight class and achieving the title of undisputed champion, goes on to reveal why the final bell might ring:
“I have no aim to knock him out because my coaches, my corner, pushed me not to do it.
“At first I hit him really hard and tried to knock him down but my corner told me to just stop and do my job.”