Amir Khan recently visited Oleksandr Usyk in Dubai to watch the Ukrainian train ahead of his rematch with Anthony Joshua on August 20.
Videos have recently surfaced, showing the unified world heavyweight champion looking the biggest he’s ever looked as he let his hands go on a punching bag.
The heaviest we’ve seen Usyk on the scales was 221lbs in his most recent fight with Joshua, According to Khan, the 35-year-old southpaw has put on 15kg (33lbs) since his previous bout with Joshua.
If this is to be believed, it is possible we could see Usyk roughly hit the scales at a staggering 254lbs, a stone heavier than what ‘AJ’ weighed in the first fight between the heavyweights and four stone heavier than his final fight at cruiserweight against Tony Bellew.
Speaking to TalkSport, when asked if the rumours of Usyk putting on that weight were true, Khan replied:
“Yeah that’s what he told me.
“I think I must have told that secret to someone and then that went into the media.
“He looked in great shape. He looked a lot bigger and lot thicker. Some people put on weight and they’re a bit soft still, he was solid. Honestly, he felt strong, and he put the weight on well.
“He says he’s put on 15 kilos of muscle since the last fight. Now is that going to slow him down? I don’t think so. I’ve seen him shadow boxing, seen him on the pads, he looked really quick, great footwork he has.”
Khan, who has retired since his last fight against Kell Brook in February which saw him stopped in the sixth round, made a surprising prediction for the fight however.
The 35-year-old is backing his British counterpart even after learning the strength Usyk has added, but also stressed the importance of winning the fight for Joshua.
“We all want AJ to win the fight obviously him being British, we want to bring them heavyweight titles back to Britain.
“I think he wins this fight, he beats Usyk, but it will be a difficult task. He then goes on and maybe does an undisputed clash with Tyson Fury, which will be a massive fight in the UK.
“Obviously if he loses [against Usyk] then where does he go from there. There are still big fights out there for him, he’s a massive pay-per-view seller, he’s a massive name, he sells out arenas but, he has to win this fight.
“And there’s a lot of pressure going on to Anthony Joshua in this fight. I’m sure he’s gonna do his best to go into this fight and win this fight.”