Anthony Joshua believes that he will beat Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch even if he did not have a trainer, revealed Eddie Hearn.
The Matchroom promoter works closely with the former champion and has been involved as he looks to set up their second fight in late April or early May, after Joshua exercised his rematch clause.
The first fight in September 2021 saw Ukrainian fighter Usyk claim the IBF, WBA and WBO belts in an upset victory.
Given the manner of the defeat, with Usyk a convincing winner, Joshua has toured gyms in California and Texas amid speculation he could make radical changes to his training setup in pursuit of winning back his titles for a second time.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, Hearn explained Joshua’s determination, saying: “There’s no other fight. That’s the fight AJ wanted.
“He will make changes to his training team.
“But when I sat down with him about the step-aside, he just said, ‘I’ll beat Usyk.’
“I said, ‘Yeah but you haven’t started working with your new trainer yet.’
“He said, ‘I’ll beat him without a trainer.’
“He’s pumped for that fight. And it’s a really tough fight. I just hope AJ gets the credit for the fights that he takes.
“How many fighters honestly would’ve taken the Usyk fight in AJ’s position? Or how many would’ve just vacated the belt and gone, ‘Oh no, we’re going down another route.’
“He wanted to fight him and now he’s fighting him again.
“May time for that fight, looking to secure the venue back in the UK.”