Eddie Hearn, promoter of British ex-world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs), knows how his ward should act in the upcoming rematch against Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) if he wants to get even for last year’s defeat.
Eddie insists Usyk shouldn’t be given free space, and Derek Chisora showed how.
“You have to pressure him like Chisora did,” Hearn said. – Watch the fight (Usyk) with Chisora, the first few rounds. Usyk was at the canals. You must push him there, push him to the ropes, where he will become an easier prey.
At the same time, the functionary stressed that it’s also not worth throwing a saber naked:
“You shouldn’t be reckless against a tough counterpuncher like Oleksandr Usyk. Look, Usyk can go on the offensive and start pushing Joshua himself. You saw Deontay Wilder do it against Tyson Fury (in a rematch).
For me, the key is the early rounds. You can’t let Usyk get to rounds 6-7 without damaging him. You have to hurt him at the very beginning. In the first fight it was very smart of him to stay away from the ropes.”
The Usyk-Joshua 2 fight is scheduled for August 20 in Saudi Arabia. The undercard fights of this show were announced the day before.
- Joshua vows to beat Usyk and then give up all belts
Source:
BBC 5 Live Boxing