Mike Tyson believes Oleksandr Usyk's quick jab will prove the difference in his rematch with Anthony Joshua on Saturday night.
The legendary former world heavyweight champion is a fan of Joshua, but understands he faces one of his toughest tests when he steps into the ring for a second time against the Ukrainian. And he advises that putting pressure on Usyk and attempting to stop him from working behind his jab is a key to victory for the Brit.
Joshua is facing a career crossroads against Usyk in Saudi Arabia this weekend after losing his world heavyweight titles to the former undisputed cruiserweight champion back on September 25 last year. He has already lost his belts once before, against Andy Ruiz Jr in embarrassing fashion during the summer of 2019, and could face a long road back to the top with a loss in Jeddah.
But Tyson believes that while it is going to prove difficult for Joshua to get his win back, he can do it with the right changes from the first fight. "It's going to be hard to beat him," Tyson said of Usyk during an Instagram Live interview with TV star and boxing fan Mario Lopez. "It's going to be hard to beat Usyk because he's fast and he out-punches you with his jab.
"Joshua needs to learn to get away from his jab because that's the one thing he couldn't handle - his jab and his movement, he was too fast for Joshua. So Joshua has to put a lot of pressure on him and keep that going all night. He's a powerful puncher but he's got to be active against a guy like that. He moves too much, his jab is educated and [Joshua needs to] just outsmart the guy."
During their first meeting, the Brit attempted to box with Usyk, who is famously one of the best technicians in the sport. He was comfortably beaten on the judges' scorecards as a result, and has since changed up his camp by swapping head coach Rob McCracken for the legendary American Robert Garcia.
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And he is hopeful that his new surroundings, that saw him move training camp from Sheffield to London before arriving in Saudi Arabia several weeks ahead of the fight, will be enough to win him back his world titles. The Watford native has had an express vision of becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era, which would be a near-impossible ask if he loses here.
Joshua and Usyk will now contend for all but one of the world heavyweight title belts after it was confirmed Tyson Fury is no longer The Ring magazine champion following his multiple retirement announcements. This means that Saturday night's fight will now be contested for the unified WBA, WBO and IBF world titles, as well as the less-valued IBO belt and the ceremonial Ring title.
Fury is still the WBC heavyweight champion, but could be stripped as soon as this month if he is serious about his plans to retire. He has been flirting with a comeback, last week offering to fight Derek Chisora later this year, but most recently declared himself to be finished with the sport.
