ANTHONY JOSHUA’s showdown with Oleksandr Usyk has been made ‘even harder’ by the Ukrainian’s training camp with Vasily Lomachenko’s dad Anatoly.
The former cruiserweight king has linked back up with Lomachenko’s old man ahead of his unified heavyweight title clash with Joshua on September 25.
Anatoly helped prepare The Cat for his undisputed clash with Murat Gassiev in July 2018, and former WBC 200lb champ Tony Bellew reckons their reunion will make Joshua’s night a lot ‘harder’.
During an appearance on talkSPORT, he said: “It’s a hard fight, I’m not gonna lie. It’s a very, very hard fight.
“If anything, it’s just got even harder because Usyk has now gone back with Lomachenko’s father.
“That makes it even harder because they will create a game plan that is gonna try and negate everything good that Anthony Joshua does.
“They’re gonna try and take everything away from him.
“That’s what Usyk does so well. He takes away your strengths before he looks at implementing his own strengths.
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“And by taking away your strengths, you’re lost. The things he does with his feet – he’s exceptional.
“So I think it’s a really hard fight, I think it’s really dangerous.”
Despite believing AJ will face one of the tougher tasks of his career in Usyk, The Bomber reckons his fellow Brit will see off the Ukrainian.
He added: “I think Anthony Joshua will be down on points when he catches up with him.
“I think he will catch up with him between rounds six and ten – I really do.
“I just think the size is too much, I just think the speed and the power will be too much.
“The thing about Anthony Joshua is he’s now becoming a student of the game.
“He’s putting in extra time, studying. He’s watching the old school fighters.
“He’s a consummate professional, the best-conditioned heavyweight in the world.
“Physically, I would say the best athlete the heavyweight division has seen in 20 years. Without a shadow of a doubt.
“All he needs to click up on now is his actual boxing IQ and that’s getting better and better.
“He’s gonna have to implement speed and force against Usyk. There is no other way around it.
“There’s no easy way to beat this guy.”
Joshua, 31, is brimming with confidence ahead of his clash with Usyk, so much so he’s adamant the Olympian won’t bring anything new to the table.
A fired-up Joshua said of Usyk’s skills: “I fear none of them.
“He don’t bring nothing I ain’t seen before. Two hands, two legs, a brain and a bit of heart.
“He’s a good fighter, I’m challenging myself in training. So yeah, let’s get it on.”
