Anthony Joshua will need all the help he can get to see Oleksandr Usyk and he might find him in an unlikely friend.
It’s not easy to find men who have beaten Usyk, given that the Ukrainian hasn’t lost in the professional ranks, but if you delve into his incredible amateur resume of 350 fights, you’ll find a defeat in the hands of the mighty light-heavyweight. Artur Beterbiev in 2007.
Unfortunately, there is no footage of the fight for Joshua to get a plan on how to defeat his conqueror, but according to BoxRec, Beterbiev won 12-10 in the Amber Gloves tournament.
All is not lost, however, as the pair have met twice more as amateurs and although Beterbiev – the current unified light-heavyweight champion – hasn’t won on either occasion, he hurt Usyk and he let him down on their second meeting.
Almost a minute into the second round of their 2011 AIBA World Championship quarter-final in Baku, as Usyk spun the rings around the Russian, Beterbiev landed a crushing right counter that appeared to hurt his opponent .
Usyk was sent on his bike, trying to avoid a follow-up power punch from Beterbiev, but he recovered well and found his rhythm quickly.
In the final round, Usyk continued to dominate, topping the judge’s scorecards, but with a minute remaining, Beterbiev landed a resounding body shot and the undisputed world heavyweight and unified heavyweight champion took down. was forced to take a knee.
When the pair met for the third time in the quarter-finals of the London 2012 Olympics, the fight followed a similar course with Usyk’s superior punching power and movement earning him rounds.
That being said, Beterbiev hurt Usyk again with a body shot in round two, although the Ukrainian didn’t go down this time but was given a permanent count.
Usyk won the fight once again, but it was a very competitive competition and Beterbiev’s tough, aggressive style gave the Ukrainian all sorts of problems.
Body shooting is also something that was not lost on trainer Dave Coldwell when he prepared Tony Bellew to face Usyk in their cruiserweight dust in 2018.
What can be inferred is that Beterbiev is considerably shorter than AJ and yet Usyk is clearly not comfortable with his aggressiveness and physical presence.
This will encourage viewing of Joshua and his team, who have pledged to take a more attacking approach in the rematch with Usyk on August 20 in Saudi Arabia, live on talkSPORT.
In Jeddah, he hopes to join Lennox Lewis, Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield as a three-time champion.
Usyk vs. Joshua 2 on talkSPORT