"He needs to tap into his ancestry" - Israel Adesanya urges Anthony Joshua to "bring out the lion within" for Oleksandr Usyk rematch

Joshua (L) will have to "bring out the lion within" to win against Usyk, according to Israel Adesanya (R) [Credits: SkySportsBoxing/YouTube, Getty]

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has shown his support for boxer Anthony Joshua as he faces Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk in their highly-anticipated rematch this weekend.

In an interview with Sky Sports Boxing, Adesanya admitted that the two-time former unified world heavyweight champion would have to "bring out his ancestry" to beat the Ukrainian this time around:

"He's another special specimen as well. I think he said like I'm done trying to box. He kind of got angry. I'm like yeah, that fire. Bring out your ancestry, tap into that. I feel like if he does that, he'll be a dangerous man.

Just tap into it the way I did, when I said in the [Kevin] Gastelum fight, 'I'm willing to die'. That's like the heart of a lion. He needs to tap into that. So yeah, he needs to tap into his ancestry and bring out that lion within."

Usyk will face Joshua on August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a year after his shock win over the Brit in London. The Ukrainian finished with a clear unanimous decision win, taking the bout 117-112, 116-112, and 115-113 for the judges.

Out my hands and leave in God's 🤲🏾 https://t.co/f7gPF9ojkL

This time around, Joshua will go into the fight highly motivated to reclaim the WBA, IBF, and WBO belts he relinquished 11 months ago. Joshua has a stunning 24-2 record, with 22 wins via KO/TKO, but the two losses have come in the last three years for the Watford man.

Watch Adesanya talk about Anthony Joshua ahead of the rematch with Usyk:

Anthony Joshua claims he is not the underdog in Oleksandr Usyk rematch

Despite being the favorite in the first fight due to his natural size advantage and record, Joshua was dominated by the Ukrainian throughout the fight with an emphatic showing.

In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Joshua responded to claims of being the underdog in the rematch against Usyk. He said that he doesn't view himself as such:

"Not me personally, nah. I'm on it, winner's mindset, do you know what I mean? Always. I don't know what the bookies say, but me personally, nah, not at all."

Despite the tag, Anthony Joshua has proven his doubters wrong in the past. After his shock TKO loss to Andy Ruiz in 2019, he immediately hit back by winning the rematch later that year to reclaim the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO belts.

The underdog.

Andy Ruiz Jr. made history last night, becoming the first Mexican heavyweight champion after defeating Anthony Joshua 💪 https://t.co/ZlwpFpviLA

This time around, the Olympic gold medalist faces a similar yet tougher scenario as Usyk poses a serious threat holding an invincible 19-0 record in his professional boxing career.

Watch Anthony Joshua talk about his rematch this weekend below: