Anthony Joshua told five things need to improve in Usyk rematch by Carl Froch – EXCLUSIVE

Anthony Joshua has been given five pointers by former super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch ahead of his crunch rematch with Oleksandr Usyk. The British heavyweight was taken apart last time they met but Froch believes that certain changes could tip the scales in AJ’s favour. 

After an impeccable rise through the ranks, Joshua’s two career defeats have come in his last four fights. The most recent, against Usyk 11 months ago, was a damaging unanimous decision that saw AJ outboxed on home turf. 

This time around, the pair will swap the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia. While the venue is new for both fighters, Saudi will hold happy memories for Joshua after he avenged his defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in Diriyah three years ago. 

The stakes are high for the Brit in his rematch with Usyk on Saturday night, with prospects of landing blockbuster fights sure to diminish if he is convincingly beaten again. Froch believes that he can avoid that fate if he focuses on aggression, being on the front foot, getting on top of his opponent and utilising an advantage in both height and weight. 

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“Usyk will be supremely confident in the rematch,” he told Express Sport. “AJ is trying, he’s changed his trainer so that could change his mindset. He could be heavier, lighter, moving his head more, aggressive – we don’t know what his style is going to be.

“If AJ has been working on being aggressive, on his front foot, using his height and weight advantage and getting on top of Usyk, he’ll go into the rematch with Usyk feeling like he could do it.

“It depends how it affects him mentally,” he added. “He’s still a big, strong, fit athlete, so it depends on the manner of the defeat if he loses. The last round in the first fight, he got beaten up.

“He got systematically outboxed and broken down and then when Usyk fancied stepping on the gas a little bit… Don’t forget, it was only Usyk’s third fight at heavyweight. When you’re in uncharted territory, you’re unsure of yourself, so he would’ve gained so much confidence.”

Froch was speaking at the launch of the McLaren Turbo Series on PartyPoker, in association with McLaren Racing. The full McLaren Turbo Series schedule can be seen via the PartyPoker website.

“It’ll be tough, the guy’s better than AJ at boxing and more proficient, but I’ve got all the physical attributes to beat this guy. But it’s all about his mind. He’s got to get his mind confident, and I don’t know where he’s going to find it unless he’s had a really good training camp. We won’t know that until fight night.”