By Shaun Phillips-
Anthony Joshua will go into his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk with a destructive mindset, according to cruiserweight boxer, Richard Riakporhe.
Former undisputed world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua will be in his last chance salon when he attempts to avenge his loss to Usyk, an unbeaten world champion, who also dominated the cruiserweight division, unifying the titles in that weight class.
Usyk will will be a good competitor with Tyson Fury for the title of greatest fighter of his generation if he successfully defends his title next month and stays unbeaten against future opponents, if Tyson Fury stays retired, especially having won the undisputed belt with just two fights at heavyweight.
However, Anthony Joshua is under the greatest pressure of the two to win back his titles and stay in the run for the history books of being the greatest fighter of his time, if the Londoner captures back his belts and defends them successfully, whilst Fury stays retired.
The rematch fight is a ‘must win’ for Joshua, as he might as well pack up the sport in the event of another defeat. He would has already made his multi millions, but will inevitably lose all credibility in the event of another defeat from Usyk.
Joshua has brought in Robert Garcia to join Angel Fernandez in his corner and under their guidance the former world heavyweight champion will be looking for a knockout finish in his rematch with Usyk.
Cruiserweight Richard Riakporhe, unbeaten in 15 fights with 11 Ko’s , trained by Fernandez and had Garcia in his corner for his last fight, has been in camp with Joshua while they prepare for the August 20 fight with Usyk. Riakporhe strongly believes Joshua will be going for the knockout in his rematch, which is good news for British fans, who will be looking forward to an explosive showdown in Saudi Arabia next month.
Usyk has ideas of his own and is aware of Joshua’s plans, which has been well publicised in the media. He has an important statement to make himself, given the war in his native country of Ukraine, sparked by the provocative and bullish act of invasion from Russia,
Riakporhe told SkySports:“Both of them [Garcia and Fernandez] have a similar type of mentality – very, very aggressive. Very aggressive coaches, that’s their tactics. They don’t mind going in,” Riakporhe told Sky Sports.
“All they care about is going into war, going to war but with intelligence. But we’re going to have to impose our will on our opponent. That’s the philosophy and it’s all about knockouts .
“That’s all they care about, honestly, knock them out and then it’s about how they get knocked out. Because you can’t go in there just throwing bombs and not expect things back. You obviously have to be really strategic. It’s all about the results and that’s all they care about.
“Garcia, one thing that I’ve learned about him, he does bring that mentality, that Mexican style mentality – it’s OK to take one, to give them two.”
“That’s the type of mentality that they have. Kill or be killed. That’s what I’ve adopted and it’s just changed everything. You can feel the aura, you can see it. You can see that guy’s a dangerous man. I think this is what you’re going to see from Joshua on August 20, you’re going to see something different.”
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a tough test. I believe that Usyk is the most technically gifted fighter in the world and not just only technically gifted but mentally ready for war,” he said. “That’s the worst combination.
“It’s the worst combination because you get some that just don’t have the other but he’s got both, which makes it double trouble so AJ knows he has to be on his A-game.
“In AJ’s situation, coming back as a three-time world champion, that’s special. Three-time unified heavyweight world champion, it’s rare. That’s a beautiful thing and that’s something he has been focusing on.
“I believe it’s going to come.
A victory for Joshua will be big for the man who was also 2012 olympic gold medallist, and will pave the way for a unified clash with Tyson Fury, who may well snatch the belts off him, taking him back to square one.
Joshua should hope Fury stays retired if he beats Usyk, so at least it appears Fury is avoiding the risk of being beaten by a three time world champion.