Michael Bisping has weighed in on Anthony Joshua’s rematch against Oleksandr Usyk.
The former UFC champion has issued his prediction for the clash, with under three weeks until the pair do battle again on August 20.
Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, dethroned Joshua via an unanimous decision back in September last year to clinch the WBA Super, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
The two meet at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia, with the fight to be broadcast exclusively live in the UK on Sky Sports Box Office.
And Bisping, who held gold in the middleweight division when fighting in the octagon, believes the return goes a similar way to the first fight.
During a live Q&A session held on his YouTube channel, Bisping said:
“Listen, I think Usyk does it again if I’m honest, I really do.
“I was talking about this earlier and I just think Usyk is a phenomenal boxer.
“The movement, the speed, the technique that he has. Joshua’s very good, but he’s just at a speed disadvantage and a movement disadvantage.”
Joshua has hailed himself as the ‘comeback king’, having previously regained his world titles after being beaten for the first time in his pro career back in June 2019.
The Olympic champion, 32, took on Andy Ruiz Jr. at Madison Square Garden in New York and was sensationally stopped inside seven rounds, with the California-based Mexican becoming the unified king of the sport’s premier division.
But Ruiz Jr. was himself beaten six months later, at the Diriyah Arena in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, as ‘AJ’ became a two-time champion of the world.
Now, the Brit must once again muster up everything he can as he looks to get back on the world title horse and potentially set up a money-spinning dust-up with WBC champion Tyson Fury.
But Bisping isn’t backing Joshua to get revenge over Ukrainian Usyk, despite him admitting it’s not quite a foregone conclusion.
“He’s a big guy and he’s very, very powerful.”
“He’s clearly a very good boxer, but he’s not as dynamic and he’s not as agile as Oleksandr Usyk.
“He’s big enough to still be a threat with the power and obviously with the boxing offence, but yeah, I think Usyk gets the job done.”