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Anthony Joshua Expects Oleksandr Usyk To Scrape By Tyson Fury

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Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury 1

It took us a while to get here, but Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will finally throw hands on February 17th, for all of the heavyweight marbles.

Fans have been torn on who they believe will win. Make room for Anthony Joshua on the couch of indecisiveness as he’s thought long and hard on how things will play out.

Fury, like always, will have a gigantic size advantage. But size doesn’t always win fights. Joshua, on two separate occasions, towered over Usyk. His biceps were also twice Usyk’s size. Yet, even with all of the physical advantages in the world, Usyk managed to kick Joshua off his throne in their first meeting. In the second, he kept him off it.

tyson fury and oleksandr usyk

That personal experience with Usyk makes the Ukrainian hard to beat – even for somebody as great as Fury.

“I don’t know,” said Joshua to Boxing Social when asked to pick a winner. “I’ve fought Usyk. I think he’s a phenomenal fighter and I think he has a great team around him. You’re only as good as your team and he has a great team around him. After being in the ring with him and studying him, still studying him now, I think he’s the one to edge it.”

For a long list of reasons, Joshua has never liked Fury. The way he conducts himself in the ring and the antics outside of it have simply rubbed the former unified champ the wrong way. But, Joshua doesn’t want his opinion to come across as either spurious or biased.

Usyk has a unique and perplexing style, one that no one, including Joshua, has been able to figure out. For that reason alone, the 34-year-old has a feeling that Usyk will do just enough to become an undisputed champion.

“Probably because of his experiences, his ring generalship, and ring craft. I think he’s top-tier.”

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BOXING

Robert Garcia Views Francis Ngannou as “Easy Fight” For Anthony Joshua

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Anthony Joshua

Robert Garcia, who briefly trained former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, believes he would have little to no problem in beating MMA veteran Francis Ngannou.

Garcia helped train Joshua for his 2022 rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, who retained his unified crown with a twelve round decision win.

After that fight, Joshua would part ways with Garcia and hire trainer Derrick James.

Joshua has since picked up three victories in a row. Last month, he traveled to Saudi Arabia to batter and stop Otto Wallin.

anthony joshua

Joshua was slated to face former WBC king Deontay Wilder on a March date – but that scenario went up in smoke when Wilder suffered an upset decision loss to Joseph Parker last month.

The British star is still on track to return in March – with three names in the running to fight him.

Ngannou, a former UFC champion, is one of those names.

Back in October, Ngannou shocked most observers with his competitive performance against the division’s top man, WBC champion Tyson Fury.

Ngannou, who was making is professional debut, dropped Fury in the third round and fought him on even terms for much of the fight. In the end, Fury won a razor-close ten round split decision win.

Despite Ngannou’s performance against Fury, Garcia would expect Joshua to handle the MMA strongman with ease.

“It’s an easy fight for Joshua. Those fights shouldn’t even be sanctioned,” Garcia told ES NEWS.

“Ngannou, fighting the heavyweight champion of the world, Fury, it shouldn’t have been sanctioned. It’s a disrespect to boxing not to train one single day for that fight. It was embarrassing.

Garcia believes the majority of the top heavyweights of today are no match for many of the elite names in the 80s and 90s.

“In heavyweight boxing [of this era], none of these guys would hang with Mike Tyson, [Evander] Holyfield, [Larry] Holmes. That was different. Lennox Lewis would be doing really good now. He would beat most everybody,” Garcia said.

“Joshua is one of the good ones, but you can’t compare them to the 80s and 90s.”

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BOXING

‘I think it fuels him’ – Anthony Joshua told by Simon Jordan that he should want criticism to continue

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Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua should relish the criticism he gets and use it to ‘fuel him’ moving forwards.

That’s according to talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan, who has praised AJ for his victory over Otto Wallin last month.

Joshua dominated and stopped his rival contender in impressive fashion to set up a fight with Deontay Wilder in March.

However, Wilder failed to fulfil his side of the bargain as he was beaten by Joseph Parker on the same show in Saudi Arabia.

Now AJ’s future is unclear, but he certainly looks set to receive more positive coverage in 2024 than he did in 2023 for his lacklustre performances on the comeback trail following back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.

Jordan began on the talkSPORT talkBOXING podcast: “The irony of Anthony’s position about the unfair criticism he gets is [that it’s] probably an energy he can fuel himself with.

“But he shouldn’t want the criticism to stop because I think it fuels him.”

At this point his co-host Spencer Oliver added: “I’m with you and I said that to Joshua in one of the interviews I did with him.

anthony joshua

“I know he was very angry with talkSPORT and the criticism he was getting from talkSPORT.

“I said, ‘Listen Josh, you should be feeding off of that, that’s what good fighters do. Go and prove them wrong, that’s where your fuel should be coming from.’

“I think to a certain extent he’s done that.

“If people are talking about you, it’s a good thing. Because that means you’re doing something right, that is for sure.

“I said, ‘Just turn that negative into a positive, that’s all you’ve got to do, believe in yourself. Don’t worry about what people say because that doesn’t make any difference when the first bell rings, you’ve just gotta go out there and deliver.'”

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Otto Wallin Reveals The Extent Of Damage Caused By Anthony Joshua Fight

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Anthony Joshua and Otto Wallin

Swedish heavyweight contender Otto Wallin said Anthony Joshua was ‘past his peak’ before their fight, but was taught a quick lesson when the Brit turned up as good as he has looked in some time.

Joshua dominated from the opening bell, picking his shots with tremendous precision and measured aggression, forcing Wallin to retire on his stool with blood around his nose following the fifth-round. It was ‘AJ’s a first back-to-back knockout win since 2017.

anthony joshua

In an interview with Boxing News, Wallin cleared up news of his injury and showed support for his trainer, Joey Gamache, who made the decision to pull him out of the contest.

Joshua’s win seems to have lined him up for a fight with Filip Hrgovic and a possible IBF Vacant Title as he seeks to become just the fifth three-time heavyweight champion of all-time.

Wallin, at 33 and with losses to just Joshua and Tyson Fury, will take stock and come back this year.

 

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BOXING

Hearn: Joshua-Wilder is Dead For Now, It’s a Mismatch in My Opinion!

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Eddie Hearn

Eddie Hearn, promoter for former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, does not believe a fight with Deontay Wilder would be a competitive match.

Both fighters were in action last month in Saudi Arabia, as part of the big ‘Day of Reckoning’ event in Riyadh.

For the most part, the event was put together as a doubleheader launchpad for a March showdown between Joshua and Wilder.

However, that fight fell apart when Wilder was outboxed over twelve rounds by Joseph Parker in the co-feature. Joshua, who appeared in the main event, battered and stopped Otto Wallin.

Wilder, 38-years-old, was coming off a 14-month layoff. Adding to that, the dangerous puncher had entered the ring with a single round of action since 2021.

During the contest, he primarily stayed on the backfoot and never let his hands go. And when Wilder attempted to throw some of his signature punches, his timing was off.

Anthony Joshua

After last month’s unexpected outcome, Hearn believes the long-awaited clash with Wilder is now a dead matter.

“The fight’s dead for now. The people who wanted to put the fight on no longer see that as the fight that it was. The numbers don’t work now because Wilder’s a busted flush at the moment. It’s a mismatch in my opinion,” Hearn told IFL TV.

Joshua is still on track to return on a March date in Saudi Arabia.

The current frontrunner to face him is undefeated contender Filip Hgrovic. According to Hearn, two other names are running – with dangerous Chinese Olympian Zhilei Zhang in the mix. And MMA veteran Francis Ngannou, who nearly derailed Tyson Fury last October, is also being seriously considered.

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BOXING

Hearn Isn’t Ruling Out Future Rematch Between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker

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Anthony Joshua

From the outside looking in, it seemed as though Otto Wallin was going to give Anthony Joshua hell in the ring. The two officially met up in the main event slot last weekend in the Kingdom Arena, in Saudi Arabia.

Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s long time promoter, didn’t believe his man would get beat, but his palms were a bit sweaty once the opening bell rang. The jittery nerves of Hearn, however, were calmed as Joshua dominated the highly-ranked contender, eventually stopping him in the fifth round.

Although his performance was terrific, Joseph Parker may have stolen the show. In the co-main event, it was essentially a foregone conclusion that Deontay Wilder would violently stop him, possibly early. Parker though, didn’t follow the script.

The former heavyweight champ was the busier fighter, the stronger fighter, and the flat-out better fighter on the night. Prior to the show getting going, Hearn revealed that both Wilder and Joshua signed a two-fight deal to finally get it on.

With Wilder seemingly off the table now, Parker (34-3, 23 KOs) becomes an interesting name. Of course, Joshua got the better of Parker back in 2018. The 31-year-old is back to being a hot commodity though. Still, that doesn’t mean he’ll land another shot at Joshua as soon as he would probably like.

“Yea look, you never rule out anything,” said Hearn to Boxing Social. “But I don’t think it’s on the immediate radar.”

Anthony-Joshua

According to Hearn, it’ll take more than just a handful of recent good performances for Parker to get back in the mix. For now, team Joshua is aiming for a showdown with Filip Hrgovic for a possibly vacant title.

With that said, Parker isn’t totally out of the loop. If he wants to get his hands on Joshua once again, he’ll just have to put in a bit more work.

“If Joe keeps winning, for sure.”

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Anthony Joshua looking at Oleksandr Usyk trilogy as new trainer’s stance comes to light

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Oleksandr Usyk

Anthony Joshua could end up facing Oleksandr Usyk for a third time if the Watford powerhouse’s new trainer Ben Davison gets his way. AJ is planning on pushing on in 2024 after a successful rebuild last year.

Eddie Hearn claims his client will box three times this year or three times from March 2024, when Joshua is expected to return to the ring, to March 2025. Joshua will likely face Filip Hrgovic for the soon-to-be-vacated IBF strap in his next outing and providing all goes well there then the former unified heavyweight champion will be in a primed position to face the winner of Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury once they complete their two-fight commitment.

Joshua appears to favour a domestic dust-up with Fury while, according to Hearn, Davison fancies another crack at Usyk, who outpointed AJ twice. “The things that AJ wants to do is be in massive fights, win the world heavyweight title, and fight Tyson Fury, or get another crack at Usyk,” Hearn told iFL TV.

“That’s what Ben [Davison] wants – another crack at Usyk. For me, obviously, I’d love the Fury fight.” Joshua started working with Davison shortly after his disappointing display against Robert Helenius in August.

Although AJ eventually got the stoppage, his timid display left a lot to be desired. At the time, Joshua was working with Derrick James and the Davison link-up appeared to be more of a stop-gap.

I was training with Ben Davison in the UK and this fight came up with seven weeks to go and it would have been crazy to pack up and go to the States,” Joshua said. “I think it has been really good with Ben, as it has been with Derrick.

 

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Otto Wallin on Loss to Anthony Joshua: I Really Have No Excuses; He Was Just Better

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Anthony Joshua

Swedish heavyweight Otto Wallin has taken his punishing loss to Anthony Joshua squarely on the chin.

The New York-based southpaw refused to offer any alibis for his performance against the former heavyweight champion from London when they met last week in the main event of a card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Joshua dominated from the opening bell, forcing a stoppage of Wallin after five rounds of their scheduled 12-rounder. Wallin’s corner, recognizing their fighter was already badly bloodied and bruised, threw in the towel after the conclusion of the fifth round.

Wallin had offered a confident front heading into the fight, saying that Joshua had lost his confidence in recent years and that he was susceptible to southpaws.

In a recent interview, Wallin acknowledged that Joshua was simply the better fighter and wondered if his first-time stint under trainer Ben Davison was a large factor in that.

“I really have no excuses,” Wallin told Boxing News. “He was just better, I think. He did really well. He used his reach well. He hit me with some really good shots. Yeah, he was just better, I think.

Anthony Joshua

“He hit me with some good body shots. I’m always ready for that, but I think they had a good game plan. I think maybe, I haven’t watched the fight, but … it was a much tougher fight than the one I had with Fury. He did really well. Maybe he has found his home with Ben Davison, I don’t know.”

“I was confident going into the fight, thought that I had a really good chance of winning, but he did a really, really good job, AJ,” Wallin added.

Wallin said he did not disagree with his coach’s decision to stop the fight. Wallin is trained by former two-divisoin champion Joey Gamache.

“I didn’t disagree with him,” Wallin said. “Joey told me that he’s going to stop it and I didn’t say anything. Joey’s been with me for 10 years. He has seen me training, seen me in almost all my fights. He has never pulled me out of anything. I trust Joey. He is always looking out for me. And I feel very happy that I have a trainer that puts my health first. There’s a life after boxing.

“So I’m really appreciative that he’s looking out for me. If you’re a trainer and you see your guy out there when he comes back and looks worse in the corner—I haven’t watched the fight but I trust Joey.”

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Anthony Joshua has three-fight plan as Eddie Hearn lays out hectic 2024

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anthony joshua
Anthony Joshua still keen to fight Deontay Wilder after disruptive night in Riyadh

Eddie Hearn has hinted at a hectic 2024 for Anthony Joshua. The Watford powerhouse’s promoter anticipates that Joshua will fight three times over the next 12 months with Filip Hrgovic, Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury among the names on the Brit’s hit list.

AJ looked back to his best on December 23 as he dispatched Otto Wallin with ease on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ bill in Saudi Arabia. The victory means Joshua is expected to leapfrog the Swede to No 2 in the IBF rankings, placing him in a primed position to box Filip Hrgovic for the soon-to-be vacated IBF world title.

The IBF strap is one of the four major sanctioning body belts on the line next month when Usyk and Fury square off for undisputed supremacy at heavyweight. However, their two-fight deal clashes with the IBF’s mandatory plans so a vacant world title fight will likely be called between the No 1 (Hrgovic) and No 2 (Joshua) next year, mooted for March.

Speaking to iFL TV about Joshua’s 2024 plans, Hearn said: “The things that AJ wants to do is be in massive fights, win the world heavyweight title, and fight Tyson Fury, or get another crack at Usyk. That’s what Ben [Davison] wants – another crack at Usyk. For me, obviously, I’d love the Fury fight.”

Anthony-Joshua

“A lot has to happen by March to make that possible with Hrgovic. Obviously, Fury and Usyk fight in the middle of February. Are they gonna be able to keep the belt? Do they have to let it go? Is Joshua just gonna replace Wallin in the rankings? There’s a lot of discussions.

“If that’s in play for March, that’s definitely a possibility. Maybe that’s a fight that, when everything plays out, could be one for the summer. As I said, our conversations right now are about mapping out AJ’s next four or five fights … his 2024 and potentially the rest of his career.

 

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Joseph Parker Has Earned Right To Anthony Joshua Rematch, Says Promoter

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Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker

David Higgins, promoter for former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker, believes his fighter has done what is necessary to earn a rematch with British superstar Anthony Joshua.

Back in 2018, Joshua won a twelve round unanimous decision over Parker to unify the WBA, WBO, IBF titles.

Last month in Saudi Arabia, Parker shocked the division when he outboxed heavily favored Deontay Wilder over twelve rounds to derail a planned March mega-bout with Joshua. Parker was the more active boxer and was able to avoid Wilder’s dangerous right hand for the entire fight.

The victory marks Parker’s fourth win in a row since suffering a stoppage loss at the hands of Joe Joyce in 2022.

anthony joshua

“Joseph has earned that fight [with Joshua] in my opinion and the Saudis would see merit in Parker against Anthony Joshua,” Parker’s promoter David Higgins told Sky Sports. “It might not be next, there might be a bit more work to do but I think that’s the fight fans want to see. It’s a merit-based fight.

“In terms of opponents, Joseph will fight anyone and if you look at all the names on his resume from Derek Chisora twice, Joe Joyce, Joshua, Wilder, Dillian Whyte, the list goes on and he’s still only 31-years-old. We’ll fight Anthony Joshua in a heartbeat. Everyone knows Joseph will fight him next but I am not sure that’s an option. We’ll obviously look at any option and see what comes forward.”

Joshua was also in action in the headline bout of the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card that featured the Wilder-Parker encounter. Joshua battered and stopped Otto Wallin in five rounds. Joshua will now be looking for a dance partner, which at the moment appears to be unbeaten contender Filip Hrgovic.

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