Deontay Wilder predicts Oleksandr Usyk will "easily" beat Anthony Joshua in their world heavyweight title rematch on Saturday night.
The former champion is making his return to the ring on October 15 in New York to face Robert Helenius in New York, and is hoping to eventually forge a path towards an eventual bout with the Usyk vs Joshua 2 winner. And the American is backing the favourite in the second fight between the pair, having watched the Ukrainian take a comfortable win in his last outing against his rival.
Wilder has a famous history of world heavyweight title rematches, having thrice faced Tyson Fury. He also offered second chances at the WBC belt during his five-year reign to Bermane Stiverne, whom he beat for the title, and Luis Ortiz who was arguably winning both of their bouts before the American caught him and landed a pair of massive knockouts.
"My totally honest opinion is that it's going to depend on the fighters," Wilder explained during an appearance on the PBC Podcast. "A lot of time has passed and there's been a lot of time given to strategise for the second time around. They say when you fight a person you know him a little bit better the second time, even a little bit more the third.
"It's all going to be up to those guys. My heart says Usyk easily, he's got the momentum now and how he was able to do it the last time around. But this is boxing at the end of the day and you just never know how it's going to to end up panned out until the end of it. I wish them all the best of luck and I hope they get out of the ring just like they came in; safe and sound."
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Usyk entered the first fight with Joshua as a relatively sizeable underdog with oddsmakers given his status as a pound-for-pound great and unbeaten former undisputed cruiserweight champion. But after defying their predictions and handily outboxing Joshua over 12 rounds, the Ukrainian has flipped the odds completely and is now a major favourite.
Joshua has switched up his camp completely, bringing in the renowned American coach Robert Garcia to help train him for the second fight, having already brought 14 men to world titles. Meanwhile, Usyk set up shop in Dubai once the bout was confirmed after leaving the front lines of Ukraine's war with Russia.
The bout is expected to be one of the highest grossing in the sport's history, with both men making massive purses after an eye-watering site fee from Saudi Arabia to get the fight in Jeddah. Their initial meeting took place at the 63,000-capacity Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London, where Usyk entered as mandatory challenger and took the unified heavyweight belts.
