Former heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, has said that he would be the better boxer this weekend when he faces Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk as he tries to reclaim the heavyweight titles he lost last year. The British boxer has said that he would bring so much action into the fight as he now knows the actions his opponent is going to make as well as what to do.

Speaking in an interview staged in Saudi Arabia, the location of the fight, Joshua said that he has a change in mindset, which wants him to “smash” Usyk when they meet on Saturday. He said, “I wanted to outbox my opponent, whether it was Usyk or anyone else, that was the mindset [in the first fight]. I wanted to outbox my opponent, and on Saturday, I want to smash my opponent. That’s just the mindset now.”

He continued, saying that he is aware of Usyk tricks and knows how to counter them: “I know what he’s going to do, I know what I’ve got to do. I’ve been in there before. I know his tricks.”

The 32-year-old also talked about his new team and how much work he has put into himself since his loss in September last year. He mentioned that for this weekend’s fight, he was bringing back his aggressiveness, which he said was something that has brought him thus far.

“I was amateur for three and a half years, and I have done a lot in that time, and I asked myself how? It wasn’t down to the skill element because I was outclassed in terms of skill and experience by a lot of my competitors on the world scene, but that aggression.

“That will was something that couldn’t be denied. Then as you get more experience, you try to develop as a rounded athlete. But ultimately, you can’t take your eye off the factor of what got you to where you are, which is, as you said, that aggressiveness.”

On Fury, Joshua expressed hope that he might get to face him one day, even though the 35-year-old has said many times that he has retired.

“Unless he’s 100 percent retired,” Joshua said, “you’ve got to beat Fury as well.”

Written by: Leon Osamor