By Allan Fox: Anthony Joshua is in Dubai training with American coach Anthony ‘Chill’ Wilson in getting ready for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in April.
In the brief clip posted by coach Wilson on his social media site, you can see that the former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) emphasizes throwing body shots.
In his fight with Usyk last September, Joshua’s punches to the body of the 2012 Olympic gold medalist seemed to bother him. Whether it’s the intelligent choice for Joshua to go to the body of Usyk remains to be seen.
Joshua will be putting himself at risk
Usyk is an excellent counter puncher, and he’ll likely capitalize on Joshua lowering his head to throw body shots.
It wouldn’t be as much of a problem for the 6’6″ Joshua if he weren’t so tall, but unfortunately, he’s going to have to dip down far to go downstairs.
As you would guess, the results could be bad for the weak-chinned Joshua with him getting caught early in the rematch with Usyk and possibly hurt badly, as we saw in the 12th round of their fight last September.
Joshua will be throwing a lot of body shots in his rematch with Usyk, hoping to wear down the unbeaten Ukrainian to make him stationary. Indeed, there is much risk for Joshua or any fighter when throwing to the body.
Joshua’s head will be exposed each time he dips down to target Usyk’s midsection, and he could get nailed with a counter shot. To be sure, it wouldn’t be a problem if Joshua’s punch resistance was better, but it hasn’t been since his fight with Wladimir Klitschko in 2017.
Joshua has routinely been hurt in his fights ever since his war with Wladimir four years ago, and it’s possible that the big 6’6″ former heavyweight champion may have done something to AJ in that fight that has had a long-lasting effect.
For some reason, Joshua didn’t stay with those shots, which you can kind of blame on his trainer. Anyone could see that Usyk didn’t like getting hit to the body, and it should have been noted by AJ’s trainer Rob McCracken.
Usyk vs. Joshua expected for April
April in the UK is when & where Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn is talking about wanting to schedule and stage the rematch with the unbeaten IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs). However, he still needs to sit down with promoter Alex Krassyuk to iron out the fight.
“April is realistic for that fight and where it’s going to be,” Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn said to IFL TV. “It’s time to start planning for that.
“There were a couple of discussions about step asides and those kinds of fights. But that looks very unlikely now,” said Hearn.
If Hearn wants to save Joshua’s career, he might want to pursue the step aside offers, if any, and readily agree because things could go badly for AJ in his rematch with Usyk.
Even if it’s a small step aside offer, Hearn and Joshua should agree to it because the money they’ll make fighting Tyson Fury will be well worth it. If Joshua steps aside, he can wait for Fury to face Usyk and fight the winner.
Hearn wants AJ to fight three times per year
“AJ is the type that fights twice a year, and sometimes we feel like it would be nice to fight three times a year,” Hearn said. “We’ve had offers from around the world, but I think the UK will stage that fight.”
Five years ago, it wouldn’t have been a big deal for Joshua to fight three times a year because he could be counted on to win.
But at this point in his career, he’s losing to guys that he was supposed to beat quickly, and it might not be feasible for him to return to fighting two to three times yearly like AJ did when he was in his mid-20s.
If anything, Hearn might hasten the end of Joshua’s career if he attempts to get him to resume fighting more than once a year.
Another problem with Joshua fighting more than once a year is that boxing fans will expect him to fight quality heavyweights like Frank Sanchez, Dillian Whyte, Tyson Fury, and Joe Joyce.
It’s debatable whether Joshua can be counted on to beat ANY of those fighters.
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