September 21, (THEWILL) – In advance of his all-important bout against Ukrainian challenger Oleksandr Usyk, world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has admitted to agonising sparring sessions designed to strengthen his mind and body and handle any doubts that crop up in his mind about the fight.
The British champion will be putting his World Boxing Organisation (WBO) title on the line against the mandatory challenger but the stakes are as high as ever because each of his other two titles, the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight titles, are also at stake and will go to the winner.
The pressure from that reality has weighed heavily on Joshua and is prominent on his mind while he spars in preparation for the Saturday bout. The sparring sessions have taken into consideration the southpaw style of his Ukrainian opponent to allow him to adapt to whatever Usyk throws at him.
Speaking about the difference this has made to his prep regime, Joshua said he entered a phase of deep practice to get set: “Deep practice is where I put myself on the edge, where I am vulnerable, so I can improve. I don’t always want to be the best in the gym. Every time I spar, I spar like I’m performing. I have had tough spars. I am doubting myself.
“Throughout this training camp with southpaws I have practised, practised, practised. I am comfortable where my development is.”
Shokran Parwani, one of Joshua’s sparring partners, revealed what they have been able to unwrap about the Ukrainian and prepare Joshua for: “[Usyk] doesn’t have power. In rounds nine, 10 or 11? He won’t have the power to fight, and AJ will break him down.”
The Saturday fight will pitch two tough pugilists against each other. Coincidentally, Joshua and Usyk both won gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics, and while Joshua went from there to become world heavyweight champion, Usyk conquered the cruiserweight division as its undisputed champion. He is now coming for some heavyweight glory.
It is however to Joshua’s advantage that the Brit is not preparing himself to face Usyk as an opponent boxing above his weight class because he no longer considers Usyk simply as a cruiserweight any longer.
Joshua insisted: “All boxers can move up in weight. Some feel better at the higher weight, they carry more power and feel fresher. In my mind, I have removed the conversation that he is a cruiserweight. I get it. But I like to challenge myself. So I removed it. Let’s look at where I’m at skillswise and technique-wise.”
Joshua uses his own rise as an example why: “I’ve got what I already have – the strength. Since I came into boxing in 2008 I had a rapid rise, maybe due to sheer strength, size, and heart. I took on massive challenges early on.
“Usyk is another great champion, great fighter. But I don’t really fold under pressure. This is fun. This is deep practice. When I get into the ring it’s time to practise everything I know. I’m rather experienced now. You have to go through trials and tribulations.”
That experience to which Joshua refers is truly apt. The Brit heavyweight champion has learnt from success and failure and has come to balance the experience. Along that line, Usyk will be another difficult test for Joshua, as the British boxer still retains the hopes of meeting the winner of the trilogy fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder to decide the unified undisputed world heavyweight champion of the world.
Putting all he has been through since his shock loss to Andy Ruiz Jr, the recovery of his titles in a rematch and the knocking out Kubrat Pulev thereafter, into words, Joshua turned religious, saying: “I asked God for strength and he gave me battles.
“When I pray for strength, I want to fight the Usyks and the champions because that’s how you find out how strong you really are. For me, bring it on. I cherish that. I don’t pray for strength then want it easy.
“You have to go through certain experiences to have wisdom. Those experiences aren’t always in your favour. You’ve got to go through turbulent times.”
Still considered as one of the toughest fights Joshua will be in, the main event of the Saturday, September 25 card will take place at approximately 10:10pm local time, with slight variations depending on how long the undercard fight takes.
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.
