Anthony Joshua is set to face the fight of his life with the aim of becoming a three-time Heavyweight World Champion. The test will come against the highly skilled Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch.
When the pair first encountered each other, the Ukrainian portrayed his boxing finesse as he completely dominated the then-Heavyweight World Champion.
Ahead of the rematch, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has shown his support for his fighter and backs ‘AJ’ to secure the victory. The Matchroom Boxing promoter said:
“You’ve got to do something special to beat him [Usyk] and ‘AJ’s’ going to put that together and beat him.”
The matchup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will require a special performance from Anthony Joshua. He will enter the fight as a clear underdog on a rare occasion in his career.
If the man from Watford fails again, he will face a third professional defeat on his resume. However, if he upsets the odds, he can begin to look at continuing his journey to becoming undipsuted.
What’s Anthony Joshua’s most ‘special’ performance of his career?
The former Olympian has had some memorable moments as a professional with some emphatic knockouts on his highlight reel. However, the most special moment was against Wladimir Klitschko in 2017.
Klitschko was arguably past his best but the contest was a huge event with massive pressure on the young Brit’s shoulders.
The fight sold out Wembley Stadium, with over 80,000 attending the event. Joshua was dropped to the canvas in the sixth round but then returned to secure a stoppage victory in the 11th round. The Ukrainian was also put to the canvas in the fifth round but managed to recover.
‘AJ’ came away from the event as the Unified Heavyweight World Champion, holding the IBF, WBA and IBO World Titles.
Other honorable mentions include the knockouts against Kubrat Pulev and Alexander Povetkin, as well as the points victory over Joseph Parker to win the WBO Title. Additionally, the rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr. to become a two-time Heavyweight World Champion was also a special night for the athlete.
