Derek Chisora has detailed Oleksandr Usyk’s gruelling training regime for his upcoming rematch with Anthony Joshua which includes three sessions a day and five-hour swims. Chisora faced Usyk back in November 2020 in a spirited display that proved to be a solid test for the Ukrainian.
Chisora started well, nicking the early rounds before Usyk came on strong in the second half of the contest to win via unanimous decision. One of the key differences on the night was Usyk’s conditioning and mobility which were also key to ‘The Cat’s’ victory over Joshua in September.
Now, the reasons for his outstanding athleticism have come to light. When Usyk visited London for the second press conference of his world tour with ‘AJ’, Chisora bumped into him at a Russian spa where he revealed his exhausting routine.
“I told him he looked tired. He told me he had just finished swimming for five hours,” Chisora told The Sun. “I told him he was lying; he couldn’t swim for five hours. But his trainer told me it was true and then showed me a video of him in this huge Olympic pool just going up and down for five hours.”
He continued: “He nowhere near looked like a cruiserweight he looked like a nice full blown-up heavyweight, he was strong at the weight, when he was hitting the pads and stuff and you can see the definition on his body. He’s very thick and you can see it’s solid muscle that he’s got.”
Usyk and Joshua square off for a second time on August 20 at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia live on Sky Sports PPV. Featured on the undercard is an IBF heavyweight final eliminator bout between Filip Hrgovic and Zhang Zhilei to determine the next challenger to the winner of the main event. While elsewhere on the bill, Callum Smith, Ramla Ali and Badou Jack all feature.