Win or go home?
Nah. For Anthony Joshua, the stakes for Saturday’s clash with Oleksandr Usyk aren’t that serious.
Win or lose relevance?
That sounds about right.
Here we are again with Joshua, back in Saudi Arabia, back facing adversity, back in a must-win against an opponent that handed him a beating. Sound familiar? It should. In 2019, Joshua was in Riyadh, facing Andy Ruiz in the Saudi capital. Joshua won that night, outboxing a doughy Ruiz to regain his heavyweight titles.
This time, in Jeddah, his task is far more daunting.
In one corner, Usyk, the 35-year-old Ukrainian, the ex-cruiserweight champ—undisputed cruiserweight champ—who in just his third fight at heavyweight last September battered Joshua around the ring. Whereas Ruiz spent the months after upsetting Joshua indulging, Usyk’s victory tour was far more solemn. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Usyk remained, joining a territorial defense battalion. He left in March to start a grueling, four-month training camp. He remained in contact with friends on the front line, inspired by their fight. He packed on muscle (“He looks like a cyborg,” said Usyk’s promoter, Alexander Krassyuk). He arranged for the broadcast rights to be splintered from the global sale so the people of his country could watch the fight for free.
Hassan Ammar/AP Photo
When the Ukrainian anthem is played Saturday, Usyk might become the most motivated athlete on Earth.
Then you have Joshua. For weeks we have been hearing about how motivated Joshua is. Robert Garcia, the newest member of Team AJ, has spoken glowingly about Joshua’s camp. Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s longtime promoter, referenced the renewed fire he’s seen in his star. “He's as hungry as he's ever been,” Hearn said. “He's training harder than he's ever trained. This fight is about personal pride.”
“I made mistakes last time,” Joshua says. “This time I’m going to get it right.”
Swell. But the warning signs are there. After losing to Usyk, Joshua fired Rob McCracken, his career-long trainer. He initially elevated Angel Fernandez, an assistant trainer since 2019. He then added Garcia, a widely respected U.S.-based trainer—who had never worked with a top heavyweight. It remains unclear who will be the lead voice on fight night.
That matters. Garcia has spoken about the chemistry he has had with Fernandez. “We are both in agreement on how Anthony needs to fight,” says Garcia. But Garcia, whose stable has included Vergil Ortiz, Jose Ramirez and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, is an offensive-oriented coach. Fernandez, whose résumé as a head trainer is thin, has a Cuban coaching background. It’s entirely possible that during the fight their advice on adjustments will differ.
But it’s not just Joshua’s training. It’s his mindset. Joshua’s team isn’t hiding its strategy. “Everybody knows what Anthony needs to do to win,” says Garcia. Last time, Joshua attempted to outbox Usyk. This time he needs to engage him. “Educated pressure,” Hearn says, and Joshua must apply a lot of it to physically dominate.
“People don’t think he’s capable of doing it,” Garcia says. “I do.”
Hassan Ammar/AP Photo
Physically, maybe. Mentally? Five years ago, sure. Back then Joshua was a fearless brawler. He went toe-to-toe with Dillian Whyte and blasted out a then unbeaten Dominic Breazeale. A lot has changed since then. A physical fight with Wladimir Klitschko took something out of AJ. A knockout loss to Ruiz took more. Joshua has the tools to manhandle Usyk. “I’m 100% positive Anthony can knock him out,” says Garcia. Whether he still has the drive to do it is another story.
Joshua has scoffed at the suggestion a loss could retire him. And he’s right. At 32, Joshua is young enough to rebuild. He will leave the ring Saturday armed with a lucrative global rights deal with DAZN, win or lose. While a win will likely lead to a showdown with Tyson Fury, a defeat could just mean still marketable fights with Whyte, Joe Joyce or Deontay Wilder. Down the line, a matchup with Fury could still be on the table.
But Joshua needs this. “Legacy” is what Hearn said was on the line when I asked him about it this week. For years Joshua appeared to be on the path to becoming boxing’s next great big man. He won a gold medal, retired Klitschko and unified three pieces of the heavyweight crown. A win would put him back on that path. A loss would be Joshua’s third in his last five fights and could knock him off it permanently.
It's a lot of pressure. Joshua has been here before. He faced skeptics and quieted them. He stared down an opponent who had just pummeled him and won. He lost his titles and regained them. Three years after a career-defining moment against Ruiz, Joshua faces another.
“I wanted to outbox [Usyk] in the first fight,” Joshua told Sky Sports this week. “Now I want to smash him. … My competitive spirit will overcome all obstacles.”
On Saturday, we will find out.
