Anthony Joshua should ‘push the rules’ when he finally manages to get Oleksandr Usyk in the ring for a second time. The heavyweight rivals are currently in negotiations to secure a summer date that will see Joshua try and gain revenge on the talented Ukrainian following their first meeting in 2021.
Last September, ‘AJ’ applied the wrong tactics as he neglected his advantages in size and strength choosing to box Usyk from distance. The approach was obvious in the fight’s early going and many within the sport have urged Joshua to be more aggressive in the rematch. That includes David Haye, and the former two-weight world champion has had his say on what Joshua must do differently.
“I believed that Joshua was going to beat Usyk,” said Haye when speaking to Talksport. “I just thought physically, he was too big, too imposing, punched too hard and when they got in close, he would just be able to rough him up. He did the polar opposite to all of the things I thought he needed to do to win.
“I think he’s going to do what he should’ve done in the first fight and that’s be the bigger man, push the rules to the limit, you need to be warned by the referee for infringing some of the rules and while doing that, do some damage inside. If he is, he wins, but if he does the same thing again and tries to have a boxing match, he loses, but I don’t think he’s going to make the same mistake twice.”