OLEKSANDR USYK put on a masterclass in his Tottenham tussle with Anthony Joshua last September, which solidified his status as one of the pound-for-pound best fighters on the planet.
The slick southpaw turned in clinic on his way to claiming the unified heavyweight throne, outboxing Joshua for nine rounds of their 12-rounder.
Usyk bamboozled Joshua and watchers on with his footwork and evasiveness, although his offensive work was equally a sight to behold.
And at one point in the fight, he used a technique often deployed by boxing great Floyd Mayweather to land a beautiful straight left.
Usyk used his right hand to bring Joshua’s guard down so he could land a left hand straight down the pipe, which he did with pinpoint accuracy.
The much replayed moment was reminiscent of when Mayweather caught current pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez with the same set-up in their 2013 showdown.
But in that instance, former five-weight champion Mayweather, an orthodox fighter, used his left hand to break the Mexican’s guard before landing a straight right flush.
Usyk, 35, will be looking to replicate that successful set-up and more in his spring rematch with Joshua.
The bout was initially slated for late March but is now in the works for April.
Promoter Eddie Hearn revealed: “I think April is realistic for that fight.
“Before you know it, it’s going to be February and these fights take a lot of organising.
“For us, the preferred date and venue for that fight will be the UK, in which case we would have to do the fight outside, so we’re not really interested in doing that fight in March.
“AJ has been training relatively solidly since the fight.
“Realistically if you start your training camp in February, even April becomes quite tight but that is the preferred date for the fight and I think that’s realistic.”
Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassuyk teased an imminent announcement earlier this week, telling Sky Sports: “Many things are happening at the moment. Soon we will unveil everything.”
Joshua, 32, is hellbent on exacting revenge on the undefeated Ukrainian and reclaiming the unified titles.
He said: “For me, I have one thing in my mind, that’s war, that’s murder, that’s war, let’s go out there and hurt the guy.
“Take his soul to the point where he wants to give up. That’s what boxing’s about, I’ve learned that.
“You hit people constantly, keep on applying a certain amount of pressure, before they know it they’ll realise you aren’t going anywhere, you’re here to stay.
“With the game plan, that’s all I have in my mind at the minute, that one track, stay on course, take this guy to places he doesn’t want to go.”
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