Joshua needs the “seek & destroy” mentality for Usyk rematch says Tony Bellew

By Boxing News - 06/10/2022 - Comments

By Jack Tiernan: Tony Bellew says Anthony Joshua must have his old “seek & destroy” mindset for him to have a shot at winning his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in August.

It’s no good if Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) attempts to outbox a boxer like he did last time against Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) in September.

Somehow, Joshua came up with the idea that he would beat Usyk at his own game by boxing him for 12 rounds, and that turned out to be a sheer disaster.

By the time Joshua realized that he’d made a mistake, it was too late for him to switch back to his normal power game to defeat Usyk.

“A change of scenery will do AJ a world of good. Fresh ideas and just a different mindset going in,” said Tony Bellew to DAZN about Anthony Joshua changing trainers from Robert McCracken to Robert Garcia for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.

It could be a mistake for Joshua to assume that U.S trainer Robert Garcia is any better than his previous coach McCracken because he’s not. McCracken is a fine coach, and it’s not his fault that Joshua was beaten by Usyk and Andy Ruiz Jr.

“For me, the biggest factor going into this fight is what is AJ doing up here [head],” said Bellew. “It’s got to be a seek & destroy mentality, nothing else. Do not box a boxer. Drag him into a fight.

“Work to your strength & weaknesses and use them to your advantage,” Bellew continued. “I’m telling you, this guy is the best athlete the heavyweight division has ever seen. He’s the quickest, he’s the most powerful.

“You put this guy in a sprinting race, and he’ll smoke any heavyweight on the planet in a 100-meter sprint. You’ve got a certain type of skills that got you a heavyweight title. Don’t deter from them now.

“Go in there and use them to the best of your ability. If you fall short, so be it, but come up short knowing you’ve done everything you possibly could to win this fight.

“Don’t look back at it, ‘I should have put my foot on the gas in the fourth or fifth rounds. I should have gone for the knockout. What would have happened?’ I don’t know. Go in there and do it and find out, then you’ll have no regrets.

“It plays into his hands, in my opinion,” said Bellew, when asked how the delays affect Joshua. “It gives them [Robert Garcia and Joshua] the time to gel better, work on a game plan better and locate sparring partners.

“You’re never going to be able to find anyone as good as Usyk. If they’re anywhere as good as Usyk, they’re going to be a world champion. He’s got it all. This boy [Usyk] is unbelievable.

“Usyk has a lot going on in his private life at the minute, and I don’t want to see any excuses made after. His country is at war. We’re just waiting for a date and the final venue,” said Bellew about Usyk.

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