September 25, (THEWILL) – Ahead of their heavyweight title fight on Saturday, British heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and mandatory Ukrainian challenger Oleksandr Usyk went face to face in an intense stare-down after unveiling musclebound physiques to generate hype for their bout.
While Joshua weighed a solid 17st 2lbs (240lbs), Usyk weighed 15st 11lbs (221lbs), which is the heaviest he has ever weighed as a professional boxer.
As THEWILL reported, the heavyweights will be contesting for Joshua’s World Boxing Organisation (WBO), World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight titles on Saturday night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at approximately 10.10pm after the undercard bout.
With the weighing over, the pugilists engaged in the traditional stare-down, which was a lengthy and frosty face-off before they each flexed their muscles and paid tribute to each other’s physiques. Joshua’s weight was an immediate statement to disprove the suggestion that he would be lighter in weight than Usyk to cope with the speed and endurance of the Ukrainian.
The need to clarify the weight stories making the rounds about his decision to cut some weight made Joshua respond earlier saying: “I don’t really watch my weight. I don’t know why there is a big thing about weight. Maybe because we are heavyweights so people look at us at our heaviest.
“I have been there – I was 18st 2lbs at one stage [for the Carlos Takam fight]. But I still managed to throw a lot of combos and go 10 rounds. Now I should be able to do the 12 rounds easily because weight does make a difference.
“As long as you are loose, nimble. Loose and heavy, relaxed shots. I should be good. I was heavier and doing it so, now that I’m lighter, I should be able to do it with more ease.”
Commenting on what will be his 11th consecutive world title fight, Joshua added: “There is no game-plan. Just win. Because you never know what is going to happen when the first bell goes.”
As THEWILL reported, Joshua and Usyk each coincidentally won Olympic gold at London 2012. Since then, while Joshua has become a two-time heavyweight champion, Usyk won the undisputed cruiserweight title and is now bidding to become only the third boxer to win world titles at cruiserweight and heavyweight.
And that is something Joshua admires about his challenger of whom he said: “Respect? Fear? It’s just a fight. I’m not someone who will be disrespectful unless someone is disrespectful to me. I respect the man. He has achieved phenomenal things.”
When the subject of not possessing the size and strength to take out a world heavyweight champion was broached to Usyk, the Ukrainian dismissed any such concerns saying that the “power is in your spirit” rather than the physical.
Usyk said: “People talk a lot… we’ll see on Saturday what happens… because the power is in your spirit, it’s not about being big or small. David Haye was three times smaller than Nikolai Valuev which shows that it doesn’t matter.
“I’m grateful that this is happening … people will remember this fight for a long time.”
History beckons on the winner in a bout that promises to deliver a thrilling and exciting punch-fest.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
