ANTHONY JOSHUA has been through 13 sparring partners for his rematch Oleksandr Usyk – and some were left “hitting the canvas”.
Joshua rematches Usyk on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, following his defeat last September.
Anthony Joshua ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk
After the one-sided points loss, AJ left long-time coach Rob McCracken and his Sheffield training base.
He instead located himself at Loughborough with assistant trainer Angel Fernandez and hired US mastermind Robert Garcia.
A whole new style has been promised and if AJ’s apparent sparring is anything to go by, Joshua will be good to his word.
His camp manager David Ghansa told Sky Sports that they recruited 13 sparring partners, in all shape and sizes.
Ghansa said: “We went for a wide range of strong guys, light guys, movers, stand and traders. We just had a variety of everything.
“So him going through the rounds, some days it was one man in, one man out, who’s surviving.
“People were hitting the canvas. The camp has been crazy. People were hitting the canvas, I’m not going to hide it.
“They came to get paid for that and it’s been happening. I’m not going to hide it.”
Joshua had an equally ruthless approach when discussing his tactics for the rematch in Jeddah.
He said: “I wanted to outbox my opponent, whether it was Usyk or anyone else, that was the mindset.
“I wanted to outbox my opponent and on Saturday I want to smash my opponent. That’s just the mindset now.”
Oleksandr Usyk ahead of his rematch with Anthony Joshua
