"He can't be too reckless" - Johnny Fisher on Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2
Johnny Fisher believes that Anthony Joshua shouldn't be too reckless in his rematch against Oleksandr Uysk on August 20 in Jeddah. The heavyweight prospect expressed how Joshua must apply more pressure in a strategic way to get the victory.
'AJ' and Usyk faced off last September at the Tottenham Stadium in London. The Ukrainian produced a phenomenal performance to claim a 12-round decision and capture the WBO, WBA and IBF Heavyweight Championships.
Watch the fight highlights of Joshua and Usyk's first meeting in the ring:
Here's what Fisher said in an interview with Boxing Social:
"If Joshua tries to go for a bit more, I think that will give more chance for Usyk to pick him off... But everyone's saying it, the logical thing is for Joshua to step up the tempo... It's very easy to say but to do it against someone like Usyk is going to be very difficult... He's very skilled, he's a technician, he'll keep people off but that is what Joshua needs to do but he can't be too reckless with it."
Watch the full interview:
Following this loss, Anthony Joshua was criticised for not using his physical advantage over the former Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion. 'AJ' has recently added experienced trainer Robert Garcia to create a more aggressive game plan for the rematch.
Johnny Fisher is picking Oleksandr Usyk to defeat Anthony Joshua again
When asked who he believes will win the second meeting, Fisher backed Usyk due to his outstanding amateur background and dominance in the first fight against 'AJ'.
"I think Usyk, that's what I think... Just from the past performance and the amateur pedigree of Usyk. I know it's not the be all and end all but I think after the last result, what I've seen from Usyk, I'll go with it again."
After defeating Joshua, Usyk returned to Ukraine to assist his country in the war against Russia. It remains to be seen if this will motivate the undefeated heavyweight even further or if it will be a distraction that 'AJ' could capitalise on.
With two losses on his professional record, Joshua has been in this position before when he suffered a shock upset loss to Andy Ruiz in 2019. Only time will tell whether the Brit can retain his belts and become a three-time world heavyweight champion.