Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua told him during a recent meeting about the step-aside that he wants the rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, and he’ll take the fight even without a trainer. Joshua told Hearn, “I’ll beat him without a trainer.”
While it sounds admirable that Joshua, 32, has enough self-confidence to fight without a trainer, the fact is that he’s going to be up against it no matter what. Joshua’s problems are beyond fixing by ANY trainer.
So if AJ wants to save money, he should forget about hiring a trainer and just use a cutman in his corner and go with his instincts. Joshua doesn’t need a trainer to tell him what he needs to do in the rematch with Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs).
Hearn had been talking to Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) about the possibility of a step aside so that WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury could face IBF/WBA/WBO champion Usyk for the undisputed championship next.
Joshua doesn’t need a trainer
Unfortunately for Hearn and Joshua, Fury reportedly nixed the idea of a step aside after getting fed up with AJ asking for additional money. Fury was sick of it and decided to go ahead with his WBC-ordered fight against mandatory Dillian Whyte.
“There’s nothing else,” said EddieHearn to MMA Hour when asked if Joshua vs.Usyk fight takes place in May. “The only other thing I was looking at because there was a lot of money on the table was this other deal, but there’s no other fight.
“Again, that’s the fight [Usyk], and that’s the fight that AJ wanted. He will make changes to his training team.
“But when is sat down with him last Monday about the step aside, he said, ‘I’ll beat Usyk.’ I said, ‘But you haven’t started working with your new trainer yet.’ He said, ‘I’ll beat him without a trainer.‘
“He’s pumped for that fight, and it’s a really tough fight,” Hearn said of Joshua being amped up for his rematch with Usyk.
It doesn’t matter really whether Joshua hires a new trainer or not. If his poor stamina, weak chin, and his shaky self-confidence remain as they’ve been since 2017, he’s going to be up the creek without a paddle next May against Usyk.
Hearn wants to stick the Joshua-Usyk rematch in the UK, perhaps believing that Joshua needs all the help he can get to try and win the fight. Unfortunately, it’s doubtful that the judges or the crowd will help Joshua.
If Joshua fights with more aggression, he’s going to leave himself open to the many counter shots from the southpaw Usyk. Once the Ukrainian smells blood, he’s going to be like a shark in ripping Joshua to pieces, leaving him on the canvas.
Usyk isn’t like Wladimir Klitschko, who let Joshua off the hook in their fight in 2017 after badly hurting him. If Usyk staggers Joshua, he’ll put him away.
“By the way, Fury is no muck. He knows how good Usyk is. That’s why he didn’t want to fight him off the bat. He’s really good. So it’s a tough fight for AJ. I just hope that AJ gets the credit for the fights that he takes.
“How many fighters honestly would have taken the Usyk fight if they were in Joshua’s position? How many would have vacated the belt and gone, ‘Oh, no, we’re going down another route.’
“He wants this fight, and now he’s fighting him again straight off the bat,” said Hearn about Joshua wanting the rematch with Usyk. “So May time is when we’re planning on doing that fight in the UK.,” Hearn said about the rematch between Usyk and Joshua.
