Joe Joyce believes Oleksandr Usyk can knock out Anthony Joshua in their rematch on August 20.
Joshua was comfortably outpointed by the Ukrainian in September at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but is set to face Usyk for a second time at the Jeddah Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Joyce who has boxed both men in the amateurs favours the ‘skills’ and ‘boxing brain’ of Usyk to prevail in their next fight.
During an interview with iFL TV, AJ’s former Team GB stablemate said: “Robert Garcia, I think he’s a good choice for him. He’s like a more offensive trainer, and I think it should be a good fit. But he’s only got a short time to work on stuff with him leading up to the rematch with Usyk. Usyk has already beaten him before, so he’ll have an advantage, he will know what to do to do it again.
“He’s not going to be like Ruiz and eat a lot of Snickers bars and put on weight. He’s gone to war apparently. But word on the street, he might have been training the whole time. So, he’ll be in a good place coming in and he’ll know exactly what to do to beat Joshua again. But again, it’s up to Joshua to make the fight like the first fight should have been and correct his mistakes. Can he do it?
MORE BOXING NEWS…
Joyce slams ‘petty’ Joshua after ‘biased’ sparring video leaked
“Usyk is a very skilled fighter, good head movement, footwork, and boxing brain and very calculated how he approaches. But obviously, Joshua is the bigger man, he’s stronger, and he’s got the bigger punch. I don’t know, maybe Usyk can maybe knock Joshua out. Let’s see how the fight goes. It’s an exciting fight to watch, and I’m excited to watch it.”
‘The Juggernaut’ is set to face Romanian veteran Christian Hammer in his next contest on July 2 at Wembley Arena, London. The fight will be Joyce’s first bout of the year after a 12-month layoff since stopping Carlos Takam in July 2021.
Hammer has lost five out of his last ten fights and has been used as a gatekeeper for world-level opposition for much of his career. The durable heavyweight was last seen in the ring back in May, stopping Drazen Zanjanin in the first round.