“That’s not going to be a problem at all.” I am more interested in whether, despite now resembling a fully fledged heavyweight, Usyk will retain his usual speed and dexterity. His team have posted videos on social media of Usyk looking formidable as he rips into the heavy bag, and there are stories of how sparring partners have been forced to leave camp because of the punishment they have absorbed. Photograph: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing Oleksander Usyk and Anthony Joshua pose together after their press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel, Park Lane, London in June of this year. You can see it in the gym but I am really going to prove this in the ring.”

I don’t want to say a lot about the weight but the main thing is I feel incredibly fit and strong. “But when I started preparing for this fight I quickly gained the weight and my team put in all this incredible work to strengthen my body. “In the first month of the war I lost 10 pounds,” Usyk says as he remembers how, like so many Ukrainians, he shed weight amid the stress and worry. He beat Joshua in only his third heavyweight contest but he has apparently since packed on 15 kilos of muscle in preparation for Joshua’s renewed threat. He was majestic in becoming the undisputed world cruiserweight champion before, in 2019, he moved up to heavyweight where most of boxing’s vast riches are on offer. In response to the looming threat Usyk has spent his long and arduous training camp bulking up his physique.

The Ukrainian is the superior and more natural boxer, with a skill-set Joshua can never hope to match, and Garcia has spoken openly of the need to bully and attack Usyk.

He is not interested in making any predictions of what may unfold between the ropes – or whether Joshua, who is now being guided by Robert Garcia, the outstanding Mexican-American trainer, will tear up his mistaken strategy from the first fight.Īll the indications are that Joshua will opt for a much more aggressive approach and look to use his considerable physical advantages to try to hurt and even knock out Usyk. But all the typical hoopla of a world heavyweight title fight, at least for the new champion, gives way to more humane concerns. Usyk stripped Joshua of all his belts with an imperious performance in London last September. This coming Saturday night in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Usyk and Joshua will step into the ring for their fascinating rematch. On a ferociously hot Saturday evening for him in Dubai, almost six months since that abandoned birthday party, the ominous shadow of war still hangs over Usyk as he prepares to defend his IBF, WBA and WBO titles against Anthony Joshua.

Please dont worry bout me im fine