"I don’t think AJ has the answers for it" - Alen Babic believes Oleksandr Usyk will win rematch against Anthony Joshua
Alen Babic foresees Oleksandr Usyk retaining the heavyweight belts against Anthony Joshua in a much-awaited rematch this summer. The first fight between the two was a one-sided dominance in which Joshua fell on the wrong end.
The Brit icon was outclassed for all 12-rounds in front of his home crowd in London. The former Cruiserweight Champion snatched all his heavyweight belts. Although ‘AJ’ has remained optimistic about getting his belts back, not many people, including Alen Babic, see it happening.
In an exclusive chat with Seconds Out, Alen Babic said:
“I think it is just going to be the same stuff and I don’t think AJ has the answers for it. Usyk is too good of a boxer.”
The rematch is likely to happen on July 23 in Saudi Arabia, where Anthony Joshua avenged his maiden pro-loss against Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019. However, avenging Usyk might be very tricky.
Unlike Ruiz Jr., Usyk didn’t just rely on power punches to grab hold of Joshua. He outboxed his fellow Olympic gold medalist and dominated every single second of the bout. The timer for the 12th round also blew up five seconds earlier when Oleksandr Usyk came close to knocking out Anthony Joshua at Wembley.
Watch AJ vs Usyk below:
While ‘AJ’ now stands at a very crucial stage in his career, he cannot afford to lose against Usyk again. Another defeat would eradicate him from the title shot and could also urge him to hang up the gloves.
Alen Babic and critics haven’t shrunk Anthony Joshua’s preparations
Despite all the backlash, Anthony Joshua believes he could be the first man to vanquish Oleksandr Usyk in a professional fight. He acknowledged his setbacks in the first fight and claimed to have prepared a specific game plan for his next one. On beating Usyk, he could become a top dog in the division.
Reflecting on his preparations, 'AJ' recently said:
"This is the first time in my career I'd say we are specifically working to a game plan. I've based a lot of my success on raw ability… Raw ability wasn't enough, so now I'm gonna try out this game plan training and see how it goes."
Anthony Joshua on the Oleksandr Usyk rematch: "This is the first time in my career I'd say we are specifically working to a game plan. I've based a lot of my success on raw ability… Raw ability wasn't enough, so now I'm gonna try out this game plan training and see how it goes."
Joshua has proven himself to be an elite world champion several times. He is also a knockout artist and has been in the heavyweight division for longer than Usyk. However, Usyk’s fight IQ and boxing brilliance is something that ‘AJ’ will need to understand to become the world champion again.