Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 news LIVE: Press conference fallout ahead of Saudi Arabia fight

Eddie Hearn has insisted that Anthony Joshua is still the ‘biggest draw in boxing’, even ahead of Tyson Fury.

Joshua is set to rematch Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, as the Briton looks to regain the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight belts that he lost to the unbeaten Ukrainian last September. The winner of that bout could then take on WBC title holder Fury to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion, although “AJ”’s compatriot has claimed to be retired – despite not yet relinquishing his belt.

Joshua has lost twice over the last three years, while Fury has remained unbeaten while competing in a captivating trilogy with Deontay Wilder – as well as scoring a knockout of Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium this April. Hearn, however, still sees his fighter as the bigger star.

“Tyson Fury isn’t the biggest draw in boxing,” Hearn told GQ. “AJ still is. But yes, [Fury’s] a huge star.

“But I am loyal to AJ, and I think Fury knew that when I was discussing signing him when he was 400lbs.”

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Oleksandr Usyk has said he was ‘perhaps 30 seconds or a minute’ from knocking down Anthony Joshua in the pair’s first fight.

Usyk beat Joshua via unanimous decision in London last September, landing a flurry of punches with the Briton backed up against the ropes just before the final bell sounded.

Ahead of the pair’s rematch in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Usyk was asked how close he believes he was to finishing Joshua during that late onslaught.

“Perhaps if there were another 30 seconds or another minute in the 12th round, Anthony would have been knocked down,” the unbeaten Ukrainian told Parimatch. “But I don’t think about it anymore, because it’s just guessing. It happened as it happened. I boxed 12 rounds and I won.”

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The boxing landscape is arguably as intriguing as it has ever been.

The past few years have seen heavyweight epics for the ages between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, they have seen Saul “Canelo” Alvarez establish himself as the face of the sport in the eyes of many fans, and they have seen frequent displays of technical brilliance from champions in lighter weight classes.

There have been upsets, title unifications, and there has been no shortage of drama – Anthony Joshua’s defeats by Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk standing out as prime examples.

All of these fights and results have factored into The Independent’s own top 10, pound-for-pound rankings for men’s boxers, to be updated monthly.

While there is no exact science to putting together lists such as this, a number of factors have been considered in making the rankings, including each fighter’s overall record, recent record, level of activity and calibre of opposition.

Do Joshua and Usyk feature? Does one and not the other? Find out here:

A “re-invented” Anthony Joshua said he is well aware of Oleksandr Usyk’s tricks and knows what he must do to defeat the Ukrainian when they meet in their rematch in Jeddah this Saturday.

Usyk beat Joshua in front of a sell-out crowd at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September to take the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts. The 32-year-old Briton, who now has a new trainer in American former super-featherweight world champion Robert Garcia, said he learned a lot from his first meeting with Usyk.

“I know what he’s going to do, I know what I’ve got to do,” Joshua told the BBC. “I’ve been in there before, I know his tricks. I’ve got to go change the narrative. I’m the author of my own movie.

“I took myself to the United States, worked with some new trainers. I just wanted to kind of revamp things. I’m going to be 33 in a couple of months. I want to try something new, I want to revamp myself, reinvent myself – let me bring in some new coaches.”

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Anthony Joshua has mischievously forecasted a first-round knockout of Oleksandr Usyk when he attempts to reclaim his position as unified heavyweight champion in Jeddah on Saturday.

Joshua has spent the last four weeks in Saudi Arabia finalising preparations for ‘Rage on the Red Sea’ and on Monday he began media duties in a chaotic function room at the Shangri-La hotel.

Looking to win back the belts he lost to Usyk when they first clashed at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium almost a year ago, the 2012 Olympic champion looked relaxed as he painted the picture of an early-stoppage win.

“I’m going to come out… ding ding ding round one. Good defence, thinking positive, step forward… boom boom… one-two… Usyk drops… Joshua becomes three-time champion of the world in Saudi Arabia. Life is good!”

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Oleksandr Usyk performed a Ukrainian anthem about fighting for independence after warning Anthony Joshua he faces a continuation of the dismantling he endured in their first clash.

Dressed in a traditional Cossack outfit for Wednesday’s head-to-head press conference, the unified world champion remained on stage after he had faced off with Joshua to sing ‘Oi u luzi chervona kalyna’.

The 1875 call to arms was inspired by Ukraine’s 18th century battle for independence and is now intoned as a display of defiance in the face of Russia’s invasion.

Usyk served as a military volunteer in Kiev before being told he would better represent his nation by successfully defending the WBA, IBF and WBO titles he seized from Joshua almost a year ago.

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In defeat by Oleksandr Usyk last September, Anthony Joshua changed trainers and he has since shared some of the confusion that he was hearing when he went back to the corner on the night. He left the ring defeated, his face smeared in blood and told Eddie Hearn, his promoter, that he wanted a rematch.

The pair were deep in conversation on the way back to the dressing room, walking through thousands at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the flashes from phones illuminating their retreat. Joshua was too passive; this is his redemption out here on the Red Sea.

There is no room in boxing history for the story behind a loss, no time for a catalogue of errors. Nobody cares – he has to put it right once again in Saudi Arabia.

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Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter has said Anthony Joshua’s tendency to ‘think’ too ‘thoroughly’ will be the Briton’s downfall in Saturday’s heavyweight title rematch.

Joshua and Usyk will clash in Saudi Arabia, as “AJ” tries to regain the belts that he lost to the unbeaten Ukrainian in London last September.

Usyk, 35, is the favourite in the rematch, having comprehensively outpointed Joshua, 32, last year. And Krassyuk feels that his fighter’s boxing ability will not be the only decisive factor in Jeddah.

“The weak thing about AJ that we know is that he is a very thorough thinker,” Krassyuk said. “He likes to think over everything. He likes to think a lot about how not to make a mistake.

“That takes time and energy, and that’s something he should not do in the ring, because in the ring a quarter-second equals the result.”

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What if Anthony Joshua loses to Oleksandr Usyk again this weekend?

“If you lose, you lose to a pound-for-pound No 1, and then you regroup and you go again,” Hearn told The Independent this summer. “But obviously you want to win, and if he wins, I believe the Tyson Fury fight will happen; if he doesn’t, he goes back to being a contender again.”

There is nothing wrong with Joshua being a contender. In fact, that status could open up the most interesting phase of AJ’s career, with the possibility of fights against the likes of Deontay Wilder, old foe Dillian Whyte, fellow Olympic medalist Joe Joyce, and up-and-comer Daniel Dubois.

And, if all goes well, such a period could build Joshua back up to a title shot. More intriguingly, though, it could reintroduce fans to the AJ who was so enthralling in the first place: the swaggering juggernaut who provided British followers with so many entertaining evenings that guaranteed knockouts and little else.

If that is indeed how Joshua is to be remembered – knockouts and little else – would that really be so bad?

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How do you see Saturday’s main event playing out? Thus far, Indy Sport’s team members are unanimous in predicting a win for Oleksandr Usyk.

One writer believes that the Ukrainian will again win via decision, while two – this one included – predict that Usyk will stop Anthony Joshua (on the feet perhaps) in the latter half of the fight.

Joshua has been urged to take a more aggressive approach this time around, but that may just play into Usyk’s hands...