UFC legend Michael Bisping has claimed he cannot see Anthony Joshua securing revenge victory against Oleksandr Usyk next weekend.
Joshua will finally bid to become three-time heavyweight champion when he takes on Usyk for a second time at the Jeddah Super Dome in Saudi Arabia on August 20. He will be looking for a completely different outcome later this month, having been comprehensively outboxed by the Ukrainian back in the UK last September.
Many inside the sport have backed Joshua to adopt a more aggressive style which they believe will give him the best chance of securing redemption. However former UFC champion Bisping believes Usyk's boxing skills are far superior to those of Joshua. He said on his YouTube channel : “I don’t think it goes down much different than the first one.
“All the people, all the pundits, the so-called experts, they’re all saying well Joshua is the bigger man. He’s got to bully him, he’s got to use his size, he’s got to use his strength. What do they mean? I think Joshua is going to come in extremely motivated. He’s going to come in with a fantastic gameplan. I think he’s going to do a lot better.
“But I just don’t see a path to victory. Usyk showed himself to be the better boxer, to have the better footwork, to have the higher fight IQ, if I’m honest. And I say that as a fan of Anthony Joshua so don’t f***ing go mad at me all you British boxing fans. The common knowledge is a good big one beats a good small one and that’s true but I think the level of skill that Usyk has is far greater to dispell that myth or that common logic."
“And Usyk’s not exactly small. He’s not a f***ing welterweight is he? He’s still a good size, he’s a big man, he hits hard enough to have Joshua respecting him as well.” Joshua was heavily criticised for his approach to the first showdown with Usyk and has parted ways with long-term coach Rob McCracken.
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He has added experienced trainer Robert Garcia to his team for the fight, who has worked with 14 world champions in his career. It will be the second time Joshua will be looking for revenge having secured rematch victory over Andy Ruiz Jr in the Middle East back in 2019.
Garcia disagrees with Bisping and is confident that Joshua has all the advantages to beat Usyk next weekend. "That is the one thing we are needing to work on most, his mindset," Garcia said. After the last fight that defeat may have affected his mindset and may have made him not believe in himself.
"Does he have power? Yes and everything physically in his favour including his reach and height. Maybe a fighter in the past has been negative about himself but that is now mine and Angel Fernandez’s job to turn it around."
