By Craig Daly: Amir Khan says Oleksandr Usyk has transformed himself with his training ahead of his rematch against Anthony Joshua on August 20th.
Khan visited Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) at his training camp and he says he’s put on an extra 15 kilos since his victory over Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) last September.
Usyk weighed 221 lbs for that fight, which was four pounds heavier than his previous high weight of 217 lbs against Derek Chisora.
Even if Usyk comes into the rematch with Josha weighing 230 lbs, that would be a significant size gain, and it could be more than enough to carry him to victory.
Joshua couldn’t withstand Usyk’s power when he put his hands together in the 12th round. It’s reasonable to assume that a heavier Usyk could score a knockout of Joshua if he can connect with the same regularity as he did last September in London.
“He looks in great shape, by the way. He looks very strong, a lot bigger,” said Amir Khan to Secondsout about Oleksandr Usyk. “He was telling me he’s put on an extra 15 kilos since he last fought AJ.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how much strength he’s going to have. He looks like a full-on natural heavyweight. He’s big and looks very, very strong,” Khan continued.
“I didn’t want to ask him a prediction on how he thinks the fight is going to go, but he’s very confident, and he still wants to remain a world champion.
“He did say one thing. ‘No one has seen me at my best yet,'” said Khan on what Usyk told him. “I can probably believe that because I don’t think we have. Every fight he’s ever had, he’s gone through it quite easily.
“I’ve never seen him dig deep in the trenches and start fighting because I think we’ll see a different Usyk and puts pressure on him. Look, he seemed very confident, and he said next week, he’ll be going to Saudi.
“He’s going to be settled over there. He asked me if I will be there, which I will be. I’m very close by, and it’s only an hour’s flight.
“He asked me who am I supporting. Obviously, AJ being from England, and you’re from Ukraine. You’re a friend of mine as well,” said Khan.
