By Victor Kanayo
With barely 48 hours to their heavyweight title rematch, Nigerian-British boxer, Anthony Joshua, has been talking tough with a vow to win back his belts from Ukrainian-born Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua had shockingly lost the WBO, WBA and IBF belts to Usyk in September 2021 after being technically outclassed by the Ukrainian at the Tottenham Stadium, United Kingdom.
The former champion now seeks to reclaim the titles on Saturday, August 20, 2022 at the King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Nigerian-British boxer is convinced that he can change the narrative against a highly technical and agile Usyk on Saturday.
“I wanted to overcome my opponent, whether it’s Usyk or anybody else, that was the mentality. I want to beat my opponent and crush him come Saturday,” Joshua said in his pre-match press conference.
“I was focusing on different aspects of my career such as having a better jab, punch more and getting punched less, for example. You need to focus on your aggression and I don’t do that at the end of the day. My competitive spirit can overcome any obstacle,” he added.
This is not the first time Joshua has lost the belts. He had earlier lost the titles to Andy Ruiz in June 2019 before reclaiming them in a rematch in December.
Should he come out victorious in Saturday’s clash, Joshua will become world champion for a record third time.
Joshua had hinted that will continue fighting even if he fails to retrieve his world heavyweight titles from the Ukrainian.
