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Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua are poised to meet for a second time in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night – and a host of big names have tried to call a winner.
Joshua will be seeking revenge and a reunion with his heavyweight titles when he collides with Usyk at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City Arena, having suffered a unanimous points defeat in their first encounter last September.
The Brit, who can become only the fifth three-time heavyweight champion in history by prevailing this weekend, has shaken up his training team ahead of the rematch, parting company with long-time coach Robert McCracken and bringing in Robert Garcia as his new lead voice in the corner.
Anthony Joshua (R) is gearing up for his crucial rematch with Oleksandr Usyk (L) on Saturday
Joshua is seeking revenge in Saudi Arabia after suffering defeat against Usyk last September
Saturday’s contest is a must-win fight for Joshua as he looks to reclaim his belts and potentially set up an undisputed blockbuster against British rival Tyson Fury.
Yet, can he pull it off against one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet? A number of high-profile figures in boxing have predicted the outcome of AJ’s date of destiny.
Mike Tyson
‘It’s going to be hard to beat him,’ Tyson said during an interview with Mario Lopez on Instagram Live, as reported by The Mirror. ‘It’s going to be hard to beat Usyk because he’s fast and he out-punches you with his jab.
‘Joshua needs to learn to get away from his jab because that’s the one thing he couldn’t handle – his jab and his movement, he was too fast for Joshua.
‘So Joshua has to put a lot of pressure on him and keep that going all night. He’s a powerful puncher but he’s got to be active against a guy like that.
‘He moves too much, his jab is educated and [Joshua needs to] just outsmart the guy.’
Mike Tyson believes AJ will be up against it, urging him to ‘keep the pressure going all night’
Dillian Whyte
‘When we fought, we fought twice, both fights we had there was a lot of aggression between me and him in the fight, that’s the difference between fighting me and fighting Usyk, that aggression wasn’t there,’ Whyte told Sky Sports.
‘He was sort of trying to outbox someone who has been boxing for 25/30 years.
‘I believe if he revisits that aggression he had for me he does a much better job and probably beats Usyk and knocks him out this time.
‘Me and him are similar in a lot of ways, we come forward and throw a lot of punches, are aggressive and enforce ourselves on our opponents, I think they’ll be trying to get him back to that.’
Dillian Whyte is backing his British nemesis to avenge his previous defeat against Usyk
Whyte says Joshua needs to rediscover his aggression to reclaim his heavyweight titles
Tyson Fury
‘Without trying to slate AJ or anything, because he has done well, he has had a great career, he doesn’t have the engine to box for 12 rounds,’ Fury said on Queensberry Promotions’ YouTube channel.
‘So unless he comes to Morecambe and lets me train him for this fight, I see another loss, to be fair. If not, he gets another loss on his record.
‘Unless Joshua gets his a*** up to Morecambe and lets me train him for this fight, Robert Garcia and ten men like him will not make him beat Oleksandr Usyk.’
Deontay Wilder
‘My totally honest opinion is that it’s going to depend on the fighters,’ Wilder explained during an appearance on the PBC Podcast.
‘A lot of time has passed and there’s been a lot of time given to strategise for the second time around. They say when you fight a person you know him a little bit better the second time, even a little bit more the third.
‘It’s all going to be up to those guys. My heart says Usyk easily, he’s got the momentum now and how he was able to do it the last time around. But this is boxing at the end of the day and you just never know how it’s going to to end up panned out until the end of it.
‘I wish them all the best of luck and I hope they get out of the ring just like they came in; safe and sound.’
Tyson Fury (L) and Deontay Wilder (R) both expect the Ukrainian to come away with the win
Usyk cruised to a comfortable victory when he first locked horns with Joshua last September
Conor Benn
‘It depends on the mindset of AJ, I believe AJ can be victorious and should be victorious,’ Benn said.
‘But, then Usyk is a one off fighter of a generation.’
George Groves
‘Usyk’s just a class act,’ Groves told Boxing Social. ‘He fights like a middleweight in a heavyweight frame.
‘He’s the only heavyweight out there that can do that. There’s no other heavyweight on the planet who can create the angles that he does, who has the boxing brain, the boxing ability, the variety in the punches, he can vary his power.
‘He was touching Joshua with one, two, three, four, five [shots] and then whipping in a big shot. You usually won’t have that sort of time to get away with that behaviour at world level. You get a touch, touch and then you get whacked back or the guy creates distance and defends, counters somehow. But he can do that and I think he will improve.
‘It’s only his third fight as a heavyweight I think, so he’ll be supremely confident heading into this fight, he travels well, he’s travelled all over the world boxing and winning, beating people in their backyard, so I think he will be a big favourite and I think he wins again.’
George Groves is a big fan of Usyk and would put his money on a repeat result this weekend
Joe Joyce
‘Usyk’s already beaten Joshua,’ Joyce told talkSPORT. ‘So it’s the same thing again and he also has the confidence from beating him the first time.
‘So, it’s down to Joshua now to step his game up and try and get back those titles. I still think Usyk’s got what it takes to bash him up again.
‘But, Joshua has a puncher’s chance, a heavy punch, but if he can’t land those big shots then it’s Usyk again.’
Shawn Porter
‘I hate making predictions, I like to see the first round. I believe that once you see the first round, a lot of times you see the whole fight,’ he told The Mayweather Channel.
‘With that being said, I am going to predict that Usyk will win this fight. However, I have to do me and say I’ve got to see the first round.
‘After the first round we’ll know what it is.’
Chris Eubank Jr
‘Joshua vs Usyk 2 is going to be an extremely interesting fight to watch,’ Eubank Jr told talkSPORT.
‘Obviously AJ is a good friend of mine and I’m pulling for him.
Former welterweight world champion Shawn Porter is also tipping Usyk to emerge victorious
Chris Eubank Jr, however, insists good friend AJ has what it takes to overcome the champion
Joshua’s career is potentially on the line in the Middle East after his defeat 11 months ago
‘I think that he will be able to do it if he comes in with the right game plan and right mentality, which I believe he has now and learns from his mistakes, there’s no reason why he can’t win.
‘He has the physical attributes to beat a man like Usyk, it’s about the mentality and he showed when he lost against Ruiz that he is able to go back to the drawing board, figure it out and go back and execute the right game plan to win.
‘I believe he will do the same against Usyk.’
John Fury
‘Don’t be surprised if AJ pulls it off,’ Fury Sr told talkSPORT.
‘I’ve got a sneaky feeling again that AJ’s going to do it and he has this remarkable way of bouncing back doesn’t he.’