Anthony Joshua has told promoter Eddie Hearn that he could beat Oleksandr Usyk in their heavyweight world title rematch “without a trainer”.
The Briton was outboxed on the way to a points defeat in London last September, but there is a chance at redemption against the Ukrainian after activating his rematch clause.
After talks last week broke down over step-aside money to pave the way for Usyk against Tyson Fury in an undisputed fight, Joshua will now push ahead with a second fight against Usyk.
It could involve a new team for Joshua, who visited several gyms in the United States last year while assessing his training team.
The assumption is Joshua will discard the more technical strategy of boxing Usyk in the rematch and instead look for aggression, but he appears steadfast in his belief he can claim revenge whether he hires a trainer or not.
“There’s no other fight. That’s the fight AJ wanted,” Hearn told MMA Fighting. “He will make changes to his training team.
“But when I sat down with him about the step-aside, he just said, ‘I’ll beat Usyk.’ I said, ‘Yeah but you haven’t started working with your new trainer yet.’
“He said, ‘I’ll beat him without a trainer.’ He’s pumped for that fight. And it’s a really tough fight. I just hope AJ gets the credit for the fights that he takes.
“How many fighters honestly would’ve taken the Usyk fight in AJ’s position? Or how many would’ve just vacated the belt and gone, ‘Oh no, we’re going down another route.’
“He wanted to fight him and now he’s fighting him again. May time for that fight, looking to secure the venue back in the UK.”
