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

Anthony Joshua claimed this week that he would ‘smoke’ Oleksandr Usyk if the Ukrainian were not a southpaw.

Usyk earned a decision win against Joshua in London last September, taking the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles from the Briton in doing so. “AJ” will try to regain the belts and avenge the loss when the pair clash again this Saturday, their rematch taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The consensus among pundits is that Joshua, 32, must take a more aggressive approach than in his first fight with Usyk, 35, but the former champion has explained his tactics from that bout and why implementing aggression is not as easy as it seems.

“It sounds crazy,” Joshua said via the Daily Mail, “but I’m not going to lie: My objective was never to hurt him, to land damaging punches; my aim was to go the full 12 rounds and prove I could box as well as he does, to land scoring punches. But I didn’t work hard enough to prepare for a 12-round fight at that pace. I wasn’t in the right mindset – that of wanting to go in there and smash him.

“Using my size and power this time is evident, isn’t it? But to work on it is easier said than done. I need adjustments to deal with a southpaw, because to me these lefties are a nightmare. I swear that if Oleksandr wasn’t a lefty, I would have smoked him – 100 per cent.”

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Here’s a look back on the night Usyk defeated Joshua:

Anthony Joshua suffered a stunning upset at the hands of the masterful Oleksandr Usyk to relinquish his world titles and dent his hopes of becoming the undisputed heavyweight king.

Usyk emerged victorious on all three judges’ scorecards (117-112, 116-112, 115-113) to become a two-weight world champion, picking up Joshua’s WBA, WBO and IBF belts in a majestic display.

A feverish atmosphere greeted both men in the ring with 63,000 fans crammed in at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The tantalising prospect of an undisputed fight with Tyson Fury was cruelly snatched away from the boxing world this summer after a squabble in the courtroom.

And the richest fight in boxing history has been kicked further down the road, with Joshua now in a precarious position once more and tasked with avenging this agonising defeat once he inevitably activates his rematch clause.

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Former world champion Johnny Nelson says if Anthony Joshua can defeat Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch it would be the “biggest win of his career”.

Joshua will take on Usyk on Saturday after losing to his opponent last September. Nelson believes if the British star can win his belts back it would be bigger than if he went onto defeat Tyson Fury.

“I believe it would be [the biggest win of his career],” he told the Mail. “You’ve got to look at credentials of the fighters coming through. Usyk was a unique fighter, the cruiserweight undisputed champion.

“He has all the pedigree. So, on paper, he’s technically the best win out there in the world for Anthony Joshua.”

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In other boxing news...

Deontay Wilder will return to the ring against Finland’s Robert Helenius on 15 October in his first fight since the completion of his trilogy against Tyson Fury last year.

Former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (42-2-1) was stopped in the 11th round by Fury in Las Vegas for his second straight loss to the Briton, who retained the WBC heavyweight title in the process.

Their first fight in December 2018 ended in a split draw.

“It’s been a long journey for me and as of today it continues,” the 36-year-old, who was honoured with a statue in his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama earlier this year, said on Wednesday.

“I thought so many times about whether I should stay out of the business or come back. Once I got my statue in my hometown and saw so many people arrive and celebrate with me... made me feel like my job is not done.”

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Carl Froch believes if Anthony Joshua has a “bad defeat” in his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk then the British boxer could hang up his gloves.

Joshua is due to fight Usyk on 20 August after losing to the Ukrainian last September. Froch does not know where the 32-year-old would go if he were to suffer another damaging loss.

“If Anthony Joshua loses his rematch to Oleksandr Usyk and it’s a bad defeat – a conclusive points loss or a heavy knockout – it could be the end for AJ,” Froch wrote in his BBC Sport column. “I just don’t see where he can go after back-to-back defeats.

“I wholeheartedly want him to win and I am not totally writing him off. He has all the physical attributes, he’s big enough and strong enough, but I have to be brutally honest and say I don’t think he will win.”

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In 2019, when Anthony Joshua avenged his June stoppage defeat by Andy Ruiz Jr with a points win over the Mexican-American six months later, Rob McCracken rightly ensured that AJ traded a reckless, knockout-orientated approach for a more measured and disciplined one. The revised game plan paid off, as Joshua jabbed Ruiz Jr to pieces in Riyadh, rather than propelling himself onto Ruiz’s gloves as he had in New York City.

For Joshua’s new coach Robert Garcia, the objective is the opposite. The American must ensure that Joshua avoids any attempt to outbox Oleksandr Usyk.

Of course, that is an oversimplification; simply encouraging Joshua to take a more aggressive approach will not solve the Briton’s problems or Usyk’s puzzle.

Therein lies the most frustrating factor for Joshua: his best option is still a bad one. So, on Saturday night, Garcia will guide Joshua through the biggest fight of the Briton’s career with what is likely to be a problematic game plan but the best the pair can produce.

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Ramla Ali said she views Saudi Arabia as a “very progressive country” as she defended her decision to fight in the kingdom.

Ali will take part in the first women’s bout to be staged in the country when she faces Crystal Garcia Nova on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s rematch against Oleksandr Usyk in Jeddah.

The British-Somali fighter approaches the historical moment as a chance to inspire Saudi girls and women by “being part of change”, but human Amnesty International sees it as an example of the regime attempting to sportswash its dismal human rights record.

Women in particular have limitations placed on their freedom and earlier this week 34-year-old former Leeds University student Salma al-Shehab was sentenced to 34 years in prison for sharing critical posts on social media.

Here’s what Ali had to say:

Anthony Joshua bristles at the debate over his future if he loses Saturday’s career-defining rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in Jeddah.

Joshua is seeking to reclaim the titles he lost to pound-for-pound contender Usyk through an emphatic points decision at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September.

If successful, the Briton will become a three-time heavyweight world champion having previously avenged a stoppage defeat by Andy Ruiz in 2019.

Victory at the King Abdullah Sports City would likely set up a potential seismic domestic showdown with Tyson Fury, while a third professional loss would propel him below Usyk and Fury in the division’s hierarchy.

With the crossroads moment beckoning, Joshua has faced repeated questions over the consequences of classy southpaw Usyk retaining the belts and the 32-year-old has hinted he could walk away.

Here’s what he had to say this week:

Oleksandr Usyk used his public workout for Saturday’s clash with Anthony Joshua to display his lightning-fast reactions through a trick involving four coins.

Standing in the centre of the ring at the Saudi Airlines Club, the Ukrainian unified heavyweight champion lined the coins up on his hand, wrist and arm before flicking them into the air and catching each one.

It was an impressive display of dexterity and was the centrepiece of a 10-minute session that also included some dance moves.

At Monday’s arrival event, he carried under his arm a stuffed toy donkey that was given to him by his daughter before he joined the war effort, from which he was eventually given dispensation to defend his belts in Jeddah.

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Saudi Arabia will host a professional women’s boxing match for the first time when Ramla Ali fights Crystal Garcia Nova this Saturday.

The country has historically imposed numerous restrictions on women, but Ali and Nova will break new ground when they clash on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight title rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.

Ali (6-0, 1 knockout) is Somalia’s first professional women’s boxer as well as an Olympian, model, author and activist. Ahead of her fight with 22-year-old Nova (10-2, 10 KOs) in Jeddah, the 32-year-old told ESPN: “It’s such a monumental thing to happen in Saudi.

“Me and my opponent, we’re essentially making history together, so it’s not just me – it’s someone else as well. We’re both going to be the first females to be in Saudi [to do this].”

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