Anthony Joshua needs to be ‘roughed up’ ahead of his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk, says Eddie Hearn as he urges him to leave his Sheffield training base… and reveals AJ has ‘got the hump’ as he seeks revenge following defeat
- Anthony Joshua is currently preparing to face Oleksandr Usyk once again
- He was stunned as Ukranian won a comfortable points decision in September
- His promoter Eddie Hearn says AJ needs to be taken out of his comfort zone
Eddie Hearn believes Anthony Joshua needs to be ‘roughed up’ and leave the comfort of his Sheffield base ahead of next year’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
Promoter Hearn has just returned from the Middle East, where he spoke to a few sites about hosting the heavyweight clash, slated for April.
He hopes AJ will regain his WBA, WBO and IBF titles in another UK stadium fight – most likely at Wembley or at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the site of the first fight in September.
Anthony Joshua needs to get ‘roughed up’ to regain his world titles against Oleksandr Usyk, says his promoter Eddie Hearn
Hearn believes his star fighter could benefit from leaving his comfort zone in sparring
Following that defeat, Joshua embarked on a US roadtrip, speaking to potential new trainers after a decade working under Rob McCracken at the headquarters of GB Boxing in Sheffield.
‘It’s not just about who’s training him, it’s about where,’ Hearn said yesterday.
‘Rob’s in Sheffield and that’s his base. I feel it might be time to move on from that environment because when you’ve been there since you were 18 and you go into GB and Anthony Joshua is everywhere, he’s a god.
‘I just feel it’s time to rough him up a little bit, not in log cabins in the middle of nowhere. But up there it’s ‘Oh my God, it’s AJ!’ because they’re proud of him.’
Joshua was comfortably beaten on points by Usyk but is keen to atone for his mistakes
The former world champion has been seeking out new trainers after a trip to the United States
Joshua is expected to make a decision on his new coach early next year ahead of a facing Usyk in the spring.
A number of venues have expressed interest in staging the unified title fight and Hearn said: ‘I’ve just done a couple of rounds of site visits and you’ve got to talk to people. I like it in the UK. Spurs was great, whether it’s there or Wembley, whatever.
‘I would rather AJ got the opportunity to put it right in the UK frankly… again it’s always a half a dozen approaches from (the Middle East) and you’ve got to filter through them and see what’s real and what’s not.’
The winner of Joshua-Usyk II is primed to face the victor of Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte for the undisputed heavyweight title.
On AJ, Hearn added: ‘He’s got the hump because he lost… I like what I’m seeing because maybe we didn’t see enough of that before. I’m seeing the old AJ, who had nothing at the start, I’m seeing that now.
Hearn says Joshua has ‘got the hump’ and is now motivated to work on his boxing game
‘He didn’t get too comfortable, he just got it wrong and he doesn’t want to get it wrong again.’
Hearn was speaking at the press conference for Derek Chisora’s rematch with Joseph Parker.
Victory could put Chisora back in the frame for a fight with his friend Joshua, with whom he also shares a management company.
‘Would I fight AJ, if made mandatory? We would cross that bridge when we come to it,’ Chisora said.
‘I saw him straight after the Usyk fight and I told him to just come back and be better than ever. He will do.’