In 2018, the top British mentor Dave Caldwell well prepared his ward Briton Tony Bellew for the confrontation with the absolute cruiserweight champion Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) – he lost ahead of schedule in the 8th round, but at the time the fight was stopped he was ahead of his opponent by referee cards.
Caldwell talked a lot and entertainingly about what British heavyweight Anthony Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) needs to do in a rematch with Usyk, which will take place this Saturday in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). The first fight between them took place in September last year in London (England). Usyk won by decision of the judges, took away the WBA Super, IBF and WBO titles from Joshua.
Caldwell calls Usyk’s tactics Phot water. He means constant pressure, which intensifies with each subsequent round: “Given Joshua’s superiority in anthropometry and power, I have always said that he needs to attack the opponent’s body as seriously and consistently as possible. Firstly, from the first fight it was noticeable that Usyk did not like such attacks. Secondly, here the calculation is not so much for an immediate effect, as for the fact that it will slow down Usyk over time, make him less mobile, and his blows less sharp.
“After all, what is Usyk good for? With your movements. And Joshua can combine fantastically cool in the middle distance. But first, he needs Usyk to be within attack range. And as soon as you take away his legs from your opponent, you will immediately drive him into a trap. And there already just give free rein to your fists. We need blows that Usyk will feel. Let even on protection, on the shoulders, on the body. Joshua worked as number two in the first fight. And his doubts about the chosen tactics appeared already at 20 seconds of the fight, after he missed the left straight. Add to this the constant pressure of Usyk, as well as the fact that he constantly moves his head, with his constant attacks makes it so that you still can’t keep your balance and invest in your punches, you don’t have time to respond, you lose the initiative, ”the mentor argues .
“And that’s not all,” Caldwell explains the complexity of the task nicely. – After all, his blows fly from different points, at different angles, each of them has a different power. All of this is very confusing. Robert Garcia in Joshua’s corner? Theoretically, this could work. But having a great coach and a great fighter is no guarantee that they will work together. It does not guarantee that the mentor will be able to squeeze the maximum out of the fighter. He is a fantastic trainer and very experienced. And if they really managed to sniff, then it can bear fruit. But the facts must be taken into account. Who is left of the old team? Does the whole team think the same way? Is there any confusion about who has what role? It’s vital for Joshua to trust his team 100% right now.”
“Changing coaches is always a risk,” Caldwell recalls. – And sparring will not give answers to all questions. After all, only during the fight there is all this pressure for the result, a sense of responsibility, an understanding that all eyes are on you. So it’s one thing to learn something new, but quite another to be able to use it in the ring. It is very difficult psychologically. Honestly? Joshua has it. He has proven that he can learn new things. Take at least how he spent the first fight with Andy Ruiz and the rematch. These are two completely different styles. No one could even think then that he was capable of such a thing. Yes, now he has a different situation. After all, when you fight more aggressively, you become a little more vulnerable. And here it is important to correctly respond to the missed blows. Don’t panic, don’t be nervous. After all, it takes a lot of energy. He needs to maintain confidence even under pressure.”
“Garcia’s fighters mostly absorb punches with gloves, apply pressure, counterattack, wear down. They are very calm even at the moment when they miss or when something does not go according to their plan. They consistently do their job. And that’s exactly what Joshua didn’t have in the first fight. If Garcia puts all this on, then it will be just a great find. The first fight turned out to be too one-sided. But even in it, Joshua had his moments: several hits to the head, a couple of successful body attacks. The problem is that there was no sequence. And if she appears, then I think Joshua’s chances will increase very significantly. No, this does not guarantee victory, because Usyk is very good at adapting. Joshua is clearly unhappy with his previous performance. I expect him to be stronger in the rematch. Much will depend on his work under pressure. I expect more hits from him. He just has to. I think he’ll go all-in this time if the whole plan f*cks up. He can’t afford to go 12 rounds again and lose stupidly on points,” Caldwell said.
Meanwhile, Sean Porter has named the key to Joshua’s victory in a rematch with Usyk, and the Ukrainian’s promoter believes that his client will have to go through hell.
