David Haye believes Anthony Joshua could retire from boxing if he loses his world heavyweight title rematch to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua looks to win back the belts he lost to Usyk last September when the pair meet in Saudi Arabia on August 20. The Brit has partnered up with new trainer Robert Garcia for the rematch, parting ways with longtime coach Robert McCracken after a disastrous gameplan in his first meeting against Usyk.
The fight provides Joshua with the opportunity to become one of the few three-time heavyweight champions in boxing history. It could also set up an undisputed clash with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who insists he is still retired from the sport.
Haye thinks Joshua's rematch against Usyk is a do-or-die moment for the Brit, stating: "If he doesn’t win, I am not sure he wants to be in a sport where he knows he is not the best. He got outhustled by someone he knows he can beat. If he does everything right and Usyk still beats him, I don’t know if there is anything else to do. He is such a winner that I don’t know what he does next.”
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Joshua was encouraged to find a new trainer after his loss to Usyk, despite being with McCracken since winning Olympic gold a decade ago. 'AJ' toured the US in his search for a new coach, working with the likes of Virgil Hunter and Eddy Reynoso before partnering with Garcia.
Haye said of his trainer switch: "Change is good, different methods, face and voice, whoever was saying what, who came up with the plan is irrelevant, he has to win this fight to get back on top of the world.” I think his performance can’t get worse than the first time, in terms of tactics and gameplan," Haye said. That was the worst, I am sure Garcia won’t do that again."
Joshua failed to make use of his size advantage over Usyk in their first meeting and tried to outbox the former undisputed cruiserweight champion. Garcia has backed his fighter to implement a new strategy in the rematch to avenge his defeat. "We have to come out with different strategies in case one doesn’t work," he said. "We’ll be ready for the fight, Anthony is listening. He believes in us and that’s the most important thing because in the ring he’s got to come out and do what we tell him to do."
