Anthony Joshua has concerned fans, who believe he looked to have "gassed" during a brief open workout in Saudi Arabia.
The two-time world heavyweight champion has been in Jeddah for the last few weeks getting acclimatised to the extreme Middle Eastern heat, and showed off a few skills during his pad work session today. But some supporters watching live on Matchroom Boxing's YouTube channel expressed their fear that he looked tired after just a few minutes of training.
Fighters famously don't exert themselves too much during open workout sessions, but Joshua was seen working up a sweat and breathing heavily during his session this afternoon. And fans in the comments were ruthless, with one writing that he was "blowing hard already".
Another said that "Joshua almost gassed out in the workout," while a number of fans commented that the two-time world heavyweight champion was "already gassed just hitting pads".
Joshua has remained stoic despite his loss to Usyk, and remained quiet during his interview after the workout, although he did work the crowd a little bit. He expressed happiness at how his time in Saudi Arabia has been thus far, but kept his cards close to his chest before predicting a knockout on Saturday night.
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"Saudi's been good to me, shout out to everyone in Saudi, I've had a good time," Joshua said after the open workout. "Everyone at the hotel and the gym, it's been like a second home. Good memories from last time, and I'm about to create new ones.
"You know what I learned? Previous experiences are helpful, but it's all about the night, what you do on the night. I don't know how much it will help me, but I'm just focused and ready to get the job done. I feel like one of my main strengths is I'm a quick learner, a sponge.
"But ultimately, aside from all the learning and stuff like that, it's a fight. That's it, whoever throws the most punches and lands the most punches wins. That's all that matters, isn't it? I'll do my best, I keep doing my best and that's all I can do. Inshallah, we're going for a knockout!"
