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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Charlie Wilson

Anthony Joshua has significant weight advantage in Oleksandr Usyk fight

Anthony Joshua will have a 23lb weight advantage when he steps into the ring for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk tonight.

Joshua has weighed in 4lbs heavier than what we saw him last in his loss at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a move as to be expected in line with his tactics coming into the rematch - with the Brit expected to look to use his size and strength to his advantage.

Usyk, meanwhile has surprisingly weighed in similarly to what we saw in the first fight, amid speculation that he'd be much heavier after looking to have bulked up.

READ MORE: Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk 2 fight times and running order confirmed

Joshua weighed in at 244lb, slightly up on the 240lb he scaled before he put his belts on the line back in September. The 32-year-old has been with his new trainer Robert Garcia for several months now, who will be in his corner for the first time on Saturday evening. Usyk would weigh in at 221lbs.

Both men took part in a lengthy stare down after weighing in but there was no drama in the final meeting before the first bell.

For Joshua, two losses in a row to the same opponent would be legacy defining, and knock him out of the title picture for some time - likely having to build his way back up the top with impressive wins against lower ranked fighters. Should be win though, he's champion once again - setting himself up for arguably one of the biggest fights in heavyweight history Tyson Fury.

Usyk, meanwhile, can prove that his win over Joshua was no fluke, and that he's deserving of the pound for pound number one spot, which he was awarded of Canelo Alvarez lost to Dmitry Bivol earlier this summer.

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