Anthony Joshua beat himself twice in his two fights with Oleksandr Usyk – that’s according to long time rival Dillian Whyte.
Despite still coming up short in their second fight, it seemed that linking up with trainer Robert Garcia had a positive effect on Joshua and many pundits felt he put in a better showing.
The general consensus was the British fighter needed to be much more aggressive and impose his natural physical advantages, and whilst many think he attempted that to the best of his ability, Whyte reckons that nerves got the better of the former champ.
‘The Bodysnatcher’ was speaking to JOE about the heavyweight landscape ahead of his fight at the end of the month.
“He’s [Usyk] beaten Joshua twice but I think Joshua beat himself in those two fights.
Nerves and scared and moving mad in the fights.”
Since a potential ‘Battle of Britain’ super fight against Tyson Fury fell through in September, ‘AJ’ has been linked to fights against names such as Deontay Wilder, Andy Ruiz Jr and Joe Joyce. His most likely next opponent, however, seems to be the winner of Whyte vs Jermaine Franklin in a couple of weeks time.
Whyte goes up against the unbeaten American on November 26 at Wembley Arena in ‘The Body Snatcher’s first fight since being knocked out by Tyson Fury in his a world title challenge at Wembley Stadium back in April.
Joshua and Whyte have history dating back to their amateur days. The Brixton man floored and beat AJ before the Olympic Gold Medalist got his revenge in the pro ranks, stopping Whyte at the O2 Arena in December 2015 to claim the British heavyweight title.