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Anthony Joshua believes he would have "smoked" Oleksandr Usyk if the Ukrainian wasn't a left-handed boxer. The pair are set to fight this Saturday at the Jeddah Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. For 'AJ' this is a very important fight, and it is a chance at redemption for him. He is looking to win back his championship belts from 'The Cat' and become a three-time world champion.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, the Brit spoke about why Usyk is so hard to fight against, pointing out that his opponent would be much easier to defeat if he was a right-handed boxer. Here's what he had to say, per Michael Benson:
"I need adjustments to deal with a southpaw, because to me these lefties are a nightmare. I swear if Oleksandr wasn't a lefty, I would have smoked him. 100%."
Left-handed boxers tend to have an advantage when they fight against right-handed boxers because it is very difficult to fight against someone who moves in the reverse of the regular right-handed boxers. 'AJ' has been sparring with a lot of left-handed boxers to prepare for his unorthodox opponent during training camp.
Take a look at the tweet by Michael Benson:
Anthony Joshua talks about his mental preparations ahead of Oleksandr Usyk rematch
Following his loss to Oleksandr Usyk in their first meeting in September last year, Anthony Joshua was criticized for his mentality going into the fight. Many believed he was not mentally prepared to win at all costs.
The former world champion himself stated that he was not in the right mindset for his last fight with Usyk. Ahead of their rematch, Joshua sat down with Sky Sports to talk about his mental preparations the second time around:
"So mentally, it's a competitive fight, and I've got to bring competition. So in that sense, mentally it's not just about 'Alright I wanna box well and all this.' Just win, mentally. Like win, refuse to be beat, and that's how you mentally approach the fight. Just go in there with a winner's mindset."
Joshua has employed the help of trainer Robert Garcia to make sure his mindset going into the fight is right. Fans will likely get to see a more aggressive and attack-minded 'AJ' under the trainer.
Watch the interview with Sky Sports below:
