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Nigeria’s former world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua has received fresh low ratings from his shock loss to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk, as the usurper is said to have been only 60% fit for the bout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London.
In contrast with popular belief that it would be a stroll in the park for Joshua, who was primed to tango fellow-Brit, Tyson Fury in a blockbuster unification bout, Usyk spoilt the show for the Nigerian-born pugilist.
Megasportsarena.com reports that, just three months after that shock in London, fresh facts have now revealed that the new champ was only operating at “60 per cent” during his victory in September.
This much has been revealed by the Ukrainian’s manager, Sergey Lapin, who is still relishing how his ward beat Joshua via unanimous decision to take the heavyweight titles.
Usyk’s win against Joshua marked the second defeat of the Briton’s career, with the 32-year-old London 2021 Olympic Games gold medalist having been stopped by Andy Ruiz Jr in June 2019.
Joshua, who also lost his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts in that clash but regained them at the end of that year by outpointing the Mexican-American, has triggered a rematch clause to face Usyk again.
The rematch is tentatively fixed to hold in spring, with Joshua hoping to become a third-time champion afterwards, but Lapin added that ‘AJ’ will have to be at the top of his game if he is to overcome Usyk.
The manager added that he was thrilling seeing his client improve his undefeated record to 19-0, which he believes makes him a formidable champion and one Joshua will not be able to overcome in their much vaunted rematch.
Lapin told MyBettingSites: “I have known Oleksandr for more than 20 years. I have been there and seen all of his successes in boxing.
“One thing that sets him apart is he processes information and adapts to the fighter in front of him very, very quickly. It sometimes seems to me that he is from another planet – he is that good.
“Despite the fact that he has a huge amount of experience and fights behind him, he is constantly improving and getting better every training day.
“I have seen and know what Usyk is really capable of, and the version of Usyk in the fight with Anthony Joshua was 60-70 per cent of his potential. So yes, Usyk can really be better.”
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