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Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson believes speed will be a big factor in the upcoming rematch between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk captured the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight titles last September when he outboxed Joshua over twelve rounds.
While he was the underdog in the first encounter, Usyk is now widely viewed as the favorite to win the rematch, which takes place this Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
Tyson has a lot of respect for Usyk’s speed and boxing abilities. Both Usyk and Joshua captured gold medals in the 2012 Olympic games.
“It’s gonna be hard to beat him, it’s gonna be hard to beat Usyk because he’s fast and he outpunched Joshua with his jab. Joshua has to learn to deal with his jab,” Tyson said, according to The Sun.
“He’s too fast for Joshua. Joshua has to put a lot of pressure on him and keep it on him all night. He’s a powerful puncher, but he’s not as accurate – you’ve gotta be accurate against a guy like that. Because [Usyk] moves so much, the jab is educated and he just outsmarts the guy.”
Joshua has no intention of having a boxing match with the better boxer – which many feel was his downfall in the first bout.
In the second fight, Joshua is planning to push the envelope with aggression.
“The goal now is to go back to basics and go for the knockout. I always feel, when I’m sparring or fighting people, I actually see their spirit get dampened. Honestly, when you’re looking at this person directly in their eyes and watching their body, you can read the body and punch after punch this person is slowly fading,” Joshua said.
“Now when you’re boxing, the art of boxing is to hit and not get hit. So you’re kind of boxing to stay away. That’s not really my style. My style is to be up close and personal and make it difficult for the person. So that’s the game plan.”