Anthony Joshua's trainer partner Frazer Clarke believes the heavyweight has made the necessary changes to ensure he will defeat Oleksandr Usyk in their sequel this summer.
The British star faced heavy criticism for his tactical approach after being outpointed by the Ukrainian last September to lose his unified world titles. Joshua has since been working with Angel Fernandez as his head trainer in a bid to reverse his fortunes, after Rob McCracken was criticised for his display.
And fellow heavyweight Clarke, who has been working alongside the former two-time champion, believes Joshua has responded well to his second career defeat. "I think the loss has made him better," Clarke told Sky Sports News. "He's opened his eyes a bit.
"It's made him mentally better. I think he knows what he needs to do. I think he's changed his situation, which he thinks will help him. He's got a team of people that are dedicated for one thing, and that's AJ getting the result. You can't write Usyk off, he's an unbelievable fighter. But I'd like to think AJ's in a place where he can go on and get this win."
Clarke is also trained by Joshua's new head trainer Fernandez who has worked with the pair since their rise at separate stages to becoming Olympic medalists. Joshua will need to secure redemption from the second defeat of his career, having previously avenged his shock loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia three years ago.
Joshua was accused of being "gun shy" in the first showdown with Usyk after attempting to outbox his rival rather than use his trademark aggression and power. He came in lighter for the fight which signalled a big mistake for many, with Joshua since hinting at a fresh approach next time out.
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Usyk was contracted to meet Joshua in spring this year, but travelled to his native Ukraine to take up arms in a war against Russian invasion. The fight is now expected to take place in Saudi Arabia on July 23 with the winner potentially setting up a shot at the undisputed titles against Tyson Fury.
Many around the champion have hinted the fight could lure him out of his planned retirement while Joshua has called on the 'Gypsy King' to honour their gentleman's agreement if he progresses beyond his former conqueror. "If Fury was in the boxing arena, was to come out of retirement and honour the gentleman's agreement, there's a lot of money to be made," he said.
"First and foremost, I have a pound-for-pound fighter on my list in Usyk, who's a tough competitor for sure. People say I only focus on what's in front of me, which is a good way to be, but also I want to look at what the bigger picture holds so I can steamroll through, I have to, so I can get to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."
