sport news Dave Coldwell breaks down how Anthony Joshua can defeat Oleksandr Usyk trends now

sport news Dave Coldwell breaks down how Anthony Joshua can defeat Oleksandr Usyk trends now
sport news Dave Coldwell breaks down how Anthony Joshua can defeat Oleksandr Usyk trends now

sport news Dave Coldwell breaks down how Anthony Joshua can defeat Oleksandr Usyk trends now

If anyone knows the keys to beating Oleksandr Usyk, perhaps it's Dave Coldwell. 

The renowned trainer formulated the game plan as Tony Bellew handed the Ukrainian one of his toughest nights in the pro ranks to date, with the Briton ahead on the scorecards when he was stopped in the eighth round of their 2018 clash. 

Coldwell had been scouting Usyk ever since his amateur days, after Bellew predicted the Ukrainian mastermind would one day take over the cruiserweight division. That he did, becoming undisputed champion in only his 15th fight. Now, four bouts down the line, the pound-for-pound star is still undefeated and has had an answer to everything and everyone so far. 

Anthony Joshua (R) and Oleksandr Usyk (L) go head-to-head for a second time on August 20

Anthony Joshua (R) and Oleksandr Usyk (L) go head-to-head for a second time on August 20 

Usyk claimed Joshua's WBA, WBO and IBF belts with a one-sided points win last September

Usyk claimed Joshua's WBA, WBO and IBF belts with a one-sided points win last September

That includes Anthony Joshua, who looked almost relieved just to the hear the final bell at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year, as a mesmerising Usyk taught the Briton a lesson inside the squared circle to claim his IBF, WBO and WBA belts. 

Like Bellew, Joshua played victim to what Coldwell describes as Usyk's 'water torture'-like unrelenting pressure. Unlike Bellew, though, Joshua must now do it all again: the two-time heavyweight champion returns to Saudi Arabia - where he avenged his defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr - for an equally career-defining rematch this Saturday.

Where Joshua turned to discipline in defeating Ruiz Jr, boxing brilliantly from range and largely refusing to give his opponent a sniff, this time Coldwell insists it's the heavyweight's natural physical advantages he must utilise - the same advantages neglected last year. 

'With AJ’s size, his weight and the power he’s got, I’ve always felt as though a serious, sustained targeting of the body needs to occur,' Coldwell told Sportsmail. 

'If you look at the first fight, quite significantly you can see a reaction out of Usyk when he gets clipped to the body a couple of times. That’s key for AJ; it’s vital.

'With body punches, AJ doesn't have to see an immediate reaction when he lands them, but he has to stay consistent because he will make Usyk's legs heavier, he will take the sharpness out of them, and Usyk's punches will become more ragged. 

'With Usyk, he’s always moving. Anthony Joshua is a fantastic combination puncher at mid-range, but he needs Usyk to be in his range. Once you’ve slowed his legs down and you can trap him, that’s when you can start letting your hands go.

'He’ll need to let go of a few power shots and intimidate Usyk. He needs to hit him to the arms, shoulders, body with power shots where you actually mean it.' 

Dave Coldwell (left) was the mastermind behind Tony Bellew's (right) impressive performance against Usyk

Dave Coldwell (left) was the mastermind behind Tony Bellew's (right) impressive performance against Usyk

Bellew was ahead on the scorecards when he was emphatically stopped in the eighth round

Bellew was ahead on the scorecards when he was emphatically stopped in the eighth round

Coldwell believes body punches will be critical for Joshua if he is to win the all-important rematch

Coldwell believes body punches will be critical for Joshua if he is to win the all-important rematch

Of course, it's easier said than done and slowing the swift-footed southpaw down is no menial task. 

Joshua was expected to be too big, too strong, and too powerful for the smaller Usyk to handle in their first fight but, in the end, it was Usyk who proved too clever. 

Those watching on were left bemused as Joshua neglected his physical advantages, instead opting to box the better boxer in a move that proved disastrous. 

Coldwell, who believes Joshua and his team may have looked at Bellew's fight with Usyk and thought, with a bigger reach and significantly more power, they would be able to outbox Usyk, insists Joshua's mentality may have shifted within the first half-a-minute. 

'If you look 20 seconds into the fight, Usyk lands a left hand and, all of a sudden, the shock that this little man could reach him straight away, that’s where the doubts started coming in,' he said.

'The mental pressure he puts you under, the fact he never keeps his head still, the fact he’s always shifting

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