Eddie Hearn has called on Anthony Joshua to use his speed and power to exact revenge over Oleksandr Usyk in their world heavyweight title rematch.
Joshua will look to avenge his defeat to Usyk when the pair clash in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on July 20, almost nine months on from their first outing, which Usyk dominated to secure a points win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
‘AJ’ was criticised in some circles for opting to box with the masterful Ukrainian in the first meeting and the 32-year-old’s career-long promoter, Hearn has backed his charge to adopt a more aggressive approach and feels the unified WBA ‘super’, WBO, IBF and IBO champion will struggle to deal with the Watford man’s power if he is put under enough pressure.
“He’s got to be himself and not overthink things,” Hearn told Sporting News Australia.
“Not start thinking too technically. He’s got to go in and use his attributes.
“Tremendous speed, great power and he’s got to bust Usyk up.
“It’s not just about being reckless and just diving in. He’s got to be smart, he’s got to cut off the ring and when he gets any chance, let him have it and put dents him in early in that fight.
“Usyk will not be able to stand up to the power of Anthony Joshua if he continuously puts pressure on him.
“But that first half of the fight is going to be really important that he can either get him out of there or put a nice dent in him to slow him down and take him out of his rhythm.”
Joshua has appointed 2011 Ring Magazine trainer of the year, Robert Garcia to work alongside Angel Fernandez after parting ways with long-time coach Robert McCracken.
Garcia, who has coached 14 fighters to world titles including Marcos Maidana and Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez – who defends his WBC super flyweight title against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai on Saturday – is expected to employ a far more aggressive game plan for the rematch.
And Hearn believes that Joshua will be a completely different fighter under Garcia’s guidance.
“Totally different AJ,” he added.
“Robert Garcia in the corner. Great mindset and I think you’ll see a really good fight.”
Joshua returns to the country which saw him avenge his only other career defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in December 2019, after being stopped six months earlier in a major upset in New York and victory would see him become a three-time heavyweight world champion.
Usyk, undefeated in 19 professional fights has won three fights at heavyweight since moving up from cruiserweight where he became undisputed champion.
The pair will come face-to-face at a press conference in Jeddah on Tuesday June 21 at 15.30pm BST.
