Only one more week left, Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev will be the upper stage in the defense match of 4 WBO, WBA, IBF, IBO championships of Joshua. Joshua recently posted a few pictures he prepared for this floor, and it was worth mentioning that Anthony Joshua looked quite “thin”, thinner, drier than his previous matches.
“Strategy for the war,” Anthony Joshua wrote in the image description.
Most viewers are shocked by Joshua's new image. There are some that he will be more flexible, have better speed; Others argue that reducing muscles can make the risk of Anthony Joshua from Oleksandr Usyk lowering Knockout.
However, for Joshua, making his body gently needed – he needs it to serve the “strategy” of chasing Oleksandr Usyk enough 12 rounds. Along with that, instead of trying to defeat a Knockout opponent, Joshua will launch more punch, focusing more mentally to cope with the pressure of competition.
“This is a brainstorming match. I know what the opponent has and what I need to do to cope with them. Or I will force him into the corner of the ring and finish with all I have; or I will have to slowly, be more careful, wiser and calmly wait for the opportunity for a knockout,” Anthony Joshua said in an interview with Sky Sports.
Regardless of the plan, Joshua will not focus on gaining muscle in this match.
“I am planning to” peel “my body more neatly. I will fight with a puncher who plays 12 rounds, so on the floor with a bunch of redundant muscles who only know how to scream oxygen will make me tired. Now, what I need is endurance. I have practiced to play for 15 consecutive halfs. That will be what I target.”
Anthony Joshua also shared that in the two weeks before the match, he will focus on training with people who have a fast speed and the ability to move very flexibly to prepare for the match with an Oleksandr usyk puncher who has the ability to “surf on the floor like ghost”.