Anthony Joshua has shared his verdict ahead of this weekend’s Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven battle.
After years of dominating the heavyweight landscape and defeating fellow top stars like Joshua, Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois, Usyk will defend his WBC title in a controversial showcase bout against Dutch kickboxer Verhoeven.
The fight will take place at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, with Verhoeven not given much chance of claiming victory, though he wouldn’t be the first man to find success in boxing after initially beginning in kickboxing.
After coming up short in two fights against Usyk, along with time spent training alongside the Ukrainian in recent months, Joshua has now given his insight on Saturday’s bout.
Speaking to DAZN, Joshua responded to the claim that Verhoeven only has a single percentage chance of coming out on top.
“[I think] probably the same. With boxing, I think Usyk will drain his gas tank. Let’s put it in this phrase for people watching at home. Let’s say you’re playing Street Fighter and you’ve got your energy bar, Usyk knows how to make his energy go. He’ll just drain him, in my opinion. I hope it goes four [rounds] or more because I want to enjoy a night of boxing.”
Fans will hope that with a win, Usyk can move towards fights against the likes of Agit Kabayel and Moses Itauma, while Joshua returns to action in July for a bout against Kristian Prenga, before turning his attention to the long-awaited clash with Fury later this year.
