By Jack Tiernan: Anthony Joshua is going to be risking his career in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk next April, and he would be wise to listen to those around him who have been proposing he agrees to a step aside to let Tyson Fury be the one that faces the Ukrainian talent.
If you’re Joshua, pride is your enemy to be feared because it ultimately wrecks his career if he can’t handle a little bit of embarrassment that comes with stepping aside to avoid Usyk.
There’s always someone more talented in any sport, and if Joshua acknowledges that Usyk is all wrong for him, he can let Fury do the business for him. With that said, it would be better for Joshua to realize that sooner rather than later.
Joshua doesn’t have much time because his promoter Eddie Hearn wants to quickly negotiate the rematch with Usyk for April. It’s not too late to stop him.
That doesn’t mean that AJ loses to Fury. He might be able to best him, but he surely won’t beat Usyk, no way.
To be sure, Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) will feel a certain amount of humiliation in agreeing to a step side, but in the long run, he’ll be glad he did.
Joshua, 31, will not only save himself from a near-certain career-ending loss to Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs), but he’ll get a boatload of money when he faces Fury.
Joshua is risking his career in the rematch with Usyk
“Does he take step aside money now and lose all credibility?” said Simon Jordan of TalkSport about Anthony Joshua. “Or does he fight Usyk again and lose again and then be a finished article?”
“I think, if he is sensible for himself, he takes the step aside money and gets to fight Fury,” Jordan added.
“If he is a fighter, as we are all supposed to believe he is, he gets in the ring and fights Usyk.
“He is going to put himself at a career-ending position if he loses to Usyk again because he has got nothing to bring to the table besides a once big reputation.”
Factoring in how Joshua was talking recently about wanting to throw Usyk to the ground physically, it’s pretty clear that he’s already made his mind up that he’s going to take the rematch. It’s too bad.
When Joshua loses to Usyk and misses out on the $100 million he could have gotten against Fury, he’ll be hating himself for this blunder.
Peter Fury believes Joshua will fight better
Indeed, Joshua will fight better in the rematch than last time, but whether that’ll be enough for him to defeat Usyk is highly doubtful.
Whatever changes to Joshua’s game that he makes for the rematch, you can bet that Usyk will be ready for them, thanks to his trainer Andriy Lomachenko.
Usyk was ready for an aggressive Joshua in their first fight and undoubtedly was surprised that AJ chose to box him rather than using his size and power advantage.
In the middle rounds, when Joshua did use his size and power, he couldn’t maintain the pace.
Failing to score a knockout of Usyk, Joshua quickly tired from the fast pace that the Ukrainian set, and he had no energy left in the championship rounds [9 through 12] to get the decision.
“When you’re fighting one of the best fighters in the world in Usyk, which I’ve always said he is,” said Peter Fury to Secondsout when asked about his thoughts on Joshua fighting Usyk in a rematch.
“Forget what other people say, ‘He’s small, he’s this, he’s that,'” Peter continued about Oleksandr. “He’s not any of that. It’s not changed.
“If you look at what I said before the fight, I’ve always highly regarded Usyk because of 300 something amateur fights, Olympic gold medalist, unified cruiserweight champion, and jumped up to heavyweight.
“You know, he’s a serious boxer, a serious fighter, and the thing is as well, he’s got a good chin,” Fury said of Usyk. “So he makes it even more, harder because this is a guy that can genuinely fight. He’s right at the top of the tree.
“Like I said, Joshua, he just came up short, but with the right kind of tactics next time, he knows what he’s up against next time, and I’m sure he’ll make a better fight of it.
“But also, Usyk will make a better fight of it next time because they both know each other and know what they need to work on. It’s going to be one of them. Can he win it? Of course, he can win the rematch,” Peter said of Joshua.
AJ won’t bowl Usyk over
Given how much has been said about Joshua fighting the wrong game plan last September against Usyk, it’s predictable that AJ will go after him immediately, looking for the knockout.
If Joshua and his new coach are smart, they’ll make an adjustment and try and box Usyk rather than sticking with a failed Plan-A.
Frankly, bum-rushing Usyk is a stupid idea because he will be ready for that strategy from Joshua, and he’ll quickly move out of range to avoid his clumsy attacks.
“He is naturally bigger, so it just depends on how he uses it,” Peter said of Joshua. “You’re not going to walk into Usyk and think you’re going to bowl him over because you’re the bigger guy.
“When you walk into punches, they’re twice as hard, and southpaws, they’ve got tremendous backhands as well. They can hit, especially when you walk into them.
“It’s a tall order [for Joshua to beat Usyk]. You know, if we could walk through fighters like it was easy and everybody would be doing it, but I just don’t see that with Usyk because he’s got the movement.
“He does have power in his hands, and he’s [Usyk] a very accurate puncher, but look, it’ll be a good fight. It’s not an easy task. It’s another difficult night’s work for sure [for Joshua].
“And it’s not like is going to come back and wipe the floor with this fellow. That’s not going to happen.
“He could very easily lose again, as he could win it. It just depends on what his game plans are going into it and his mental state,” Fury said.
Usyk has more than enough power to knock out Joshua if he loads up on his shots. When Usyk was at cruiserweight, he stopped many opponents, including Tony Bellew.
Usyk’s power is underrated, and Joshua found that out the hard way last September at the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in London.
When Usyk sits down on his punches, he’s got excellent punching power and more than enough to knock out Joshua or any heavyweight in the division, for that matter.
Peter warns Joshua about being a perfectionist
Joshua seems to think a new trainer will be the magical elixir that will lead him to victory over Usyk, but nothing will change. Usyk is a better fighter, and his conditioning is leagues better.
If Joshua tries to fight harder in the rematch with Usyk, it will only lead to him fading faster and sitting duck by the fourth or fifth round.
Usyk is very astute in noticing when his opponents have emptied their gas tanks, and once he sees that Joshua has nothing left, he’s going to hit him at will as he did in the 12th round last September.
The ONLY reason Usyk didn’t knock Joshua out in that fight is that his trainer told him not to slug with him.
Had Usyk forgotten about that bit of advice in the 12th, he indeed would have scored a stoppage because Joshua was badly hurt against the ropes in the final 20 seconds.
“All these things play a factor, don’t they? What he’s got to watch is not fall into the same trap as [Wladimir] Klitschko, a perfectionist,” said Peter when asked about his thoughts on Joshua traveling around the U.S looking for a replacement trainer.
“That’s what undone Klitschko. When I saw him in the press conference years ago, he had seams in his trousers. This guy was immaculate and spoke 20 languages. He was a perfectionist.
“What does a perfectionist do? He ended up getting totally outboxed [by Tyson Fury in 2015] because a perfectionist wants to do everything perfectly. I listened to an interview, and he said, ‘Oh, this trainer, he was led by such and such.’ He was going back 200 years as a trainer.
“It’s just overkill. Do you know what it is? You can overthink this job, and ultimately, you can have the best trainers in the world to guide you, but it’s in your DNA.
“When you’re in there and that man’s just as good as you, listen, you’ve got to bite down on that gumshield, and it’s about who has the most [courage]. Listen, it’s a fight. So get stuck in a big heavyweight and rip in and commit like a hammer to get that drop zone.
“So he’s [Joshua] got to prevent from being too much of a perfectionist because it’ll be his complete undoing. And so, basically, in my language, he’s got to get in there and don’t give a f*** and have a fight.
“If your boxing isn’t working, nail me to the canvas. Get in there, have a fight, and go out on your back. Forget points. I’d rather be KO’d than lose on points. That’s the way he’s got to look at it,” said Fury about Anthony Joshua in his rematch in April against Usyk.
“If that’s his attitude, he’ll do well, and that what I’m telling him to do there is better than any trainer on the planet can give him because that’s it.
“You can work on all the techniques you want, but what it comes down to is the right game plans, and be prepared if all else fails to do what you need to do,” Fury said.
Fury is not interested in training Joshua
It’s safe to say that Joshua WON’T be asking Peter Fury for his help to take over as his new coach in place of Rob McCracken.
With Peter being one of Tyson Fury’s blood relations, it’s unfeasible that Joshua would be desperate enough to ask him for help.
With that said, much of what Peter says is true about some fighters going overboard when trying to be perfectionists with their training.
When it’s all said and one, if a fighter has an excellent chin, heart, tough, decent power, and good conditioning, they’re going to win.
Usyk proved that in his last fight with Joshua. He had the conditioning, chin, and the hunger to win. Joshua didn’t lose the battle because of his trainer McCracken’s mistake. He lost because he didn’t possess the conditioning or the chin to deal with Usyk’s game.
Even if Joshua had tried to use his size to run over the smaller, weaker Usyk, it probably wouldn’t have worked. Usyk would have utilized movement to avoid Joshua’s vicious attacks, and he’d have attacked him once he’d gassed out.
“I’m not interested because I’m not a prostitute,” said Peter Fury when asked if he’d be interested in training Joshua if he were asked to get him ready for the Usyk rematch.
“I’m not a fame-seeker, yeah. I don’t need money from boxing, yeah. So I’m not a hooker dying for a payday. I’m happy to do anything, and I’m talking to you straight now.
“I don’t give a f*** who you are. I’ve got my own son [Hughie Fury], and I’m guiding him to where he needs to be. That’s it, I’m not interested and I’ve got a couple in the gym because I want to help them because that’s what I want to do, I want to do that for them and get them on the right track.
“I’m going to concentrate on my own son. I’ve got Savannah, and when they’re done, I’m going to say, ‘Right, we’ve achieved what we’ve done, and that’s it.’ I’m interested in getting my own son where he needs to get into. I’m not interested in anything else,” said Peter.