"I knew I had problems": Joshua makes frank admission about rematch with Usyk

Former world champion Anthony Joshua (26-3, 22 KOs) admitted that his defeat in the rematch against Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) helped him fix his physical fitness problem. Both fights against the Ukrainian showed that it was difficult for the Briton to keep up the required pace for all 12 rounds, which led to the Watford native's fiasco.

Joshua spoke frankly about this in an interview with Men's Health. The British boxer emphasized that it was thanks to Usyk's endurance that he managed to win two fights. This made adjustments to Anthony's preparations for his fights against Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius.

"It's interesting that the defeat in the rematch against Usyk gave me the opportunity to correct my weaknesses. I knew I had problems with my physical form. As for Usyk, he won the last three rounds out of 12, so we addressed this issue. After that, I could go the full 12 without getting tired. The fact that I was no longer the champion meant that I wasn't under the same pressure and could eliminate my weaknesses," Joshua said.

Earlier, Anthony revealed the sensational details of Usyk's fight against Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) for the title of absolute world heavyweight champion. In addition, the Briton gave his forecast for the historic confrontation between the Ukrainian and the Briton.

For his part, Fury's manager Spencer Brown spoke about the secret conversation between Tyson and Alexander, and also announced the likely date of the fight. The Ukrainian himself commented on the fight against Fury in an original way, calling his opponent an avatar and questioning one of the terms of the deal.

In addition, promoter Oleksandr Krasiuk named a condition under which the fight with Fury could be canceled. And Usyk's ex-trainer Serhiy Vatamaniuk called for a serious attitude towards the Gypsy King.

The International Boxing Federation (IBF) has put forward its demand for the Usyk-Fury fight. The World Boxing Organization (WBO) reacted to the organization of the fight between Oleksandr and Tyson by naming a contender for the winner's titles. And former world champion Andy Ruiz named the main problem of the British rival of the Ukrainian.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, Oleksandr Usyk called Tyson Fury a "pot-bellied hottie" and sent him his regards. The Ukrainian boxer also spoke about the imminent end of his career.

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