By Barry Holbrook: Tyson Fury is offering to trainer former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in early 2022. Fury states that with his help, he’s guaranteeing a win for Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) over the highly technical Usyk.
Joshua needs all the help he can get after losing his IBF, WBA, and WBO heavyweight titles to Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) last September in a 12 round unanimous decision loss at the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in London, England.
Usyk had Joshua tied in knots mentally and came close to knocking him out in the 12th round when he pinned him against the ropes and unloaded in the 20 seconds. You can argue that even with Fury’s help, Joshua will STILL lose to Usyk in the rematch next year.
It’s believed that the timekeeper rang the bell six seconds early to end the 12th round, which some boxing fans think saved Joshua from being knocked out by Usyk.
Fury volunteers to train Joshua for Usyk rematch
“I believe all heavyweights have a chance for sure, and I believe if I trained Anthony Joshua for the rematch with Usyk, he’d definitely win the fight,” said Fury to FOX Sports AUS in offering to train Joshua for Oleksandr rematch in early 2022.
“Well, I’m offering my services to him [Joshua] to train him for his rematch, and I guarantee you that he’ll win. I’d get him to fight like a big man,” said Fury.
The question is, would Joshua agree to let Fury train him for the rematch with Usyk? Knowing Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, they won’t entertain the idea of Fury teaching him even for a second.
They’ll likely view Fury’s offer to train as a sign of him trying to elevate himself above Joshua in the eyes of the fans.
Fury’s offer is his way of showing the boxing world that he’s a more talented fighter than Joshua, which is still open for debate. Although Joshua lost to Usyk, styles make fights, and it was a bad match-up for AJ from the word go.
Joshua would still have a good chance of beating Fury if the two were to fight right now. Joshua’s speed, power, and inside fighting ability would make him hard to beat by Fury, who isn’t much of a puncher.
AJ risking his career in Usyk rematch
Joshua’s career could be on life support if he goes through with his plans for an immediate rematch with Usyk in 2022.
There’s too much that Joshua will need to change for the rematch for him to have a chance of defeating the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Usyk, and there’s not enough time to implement those changes.
“I just think he’d be another victim of mine, another number on the long undefeated record of the heavyweight champion of the world, me,” said Fury when asked about what would happen if he fought Usyk.
Even Fury might even lose to Usyk at this point because he’s not as fast as him, and he wouldn’t be able to land his slow, clubbing shots against the Ukrainian the way he did against Deontay Wilder last year.
