Ahead of the highly anticipated rematch between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk, former boxer turned promoter Dmitry Salita has said that Usyk will win once again against the British fighter.
Usyk won their first fight via unanimous decision last September at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and they will meet once again on August 20 in Saudi Arabia, with 'AJ' hoping to reclaim the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles he lost in that fight.
It continued former WBA (Super), WBC, IBF and WBO cruiserweight champion Usyk's undefeated career and he has been backed to extend the record by his compatriot Salita, who remains heavily involved in the sport as a promoter for fighters such as Claressa Shields, Otto Wallin and Jerrel Miller.
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Ahead of the fight, Salita has said that Usyk, 35, is 'on a different level' to the British star. Speaking to BoyleSports Boxing, he explained: “Usyk is the better fighter and I just don't see how AJ can make the adjustments to beat Usyk, I don't see it.
He added: “Usyk is a very experienced fighter, had a tremendous amateur career, and is an Olympic gold medallist. He has been taught the science of boxing as a kid and really knows boxing like a scientist, on a scientific level. He's a boxing master, one of the most educated boxers in the world, maybe even of all time. He's really, really well educated in terms of the sweet science.”
Joshua was viewed as a potential heir to the legendary Klitschko brothers following his win over Wladimir Klitschko in 2017, but the star has seen his legacy affected by defeats to Andy Ruiz and then Usyk in recent years. Salita said that since his win over Klitschko, he has regressed as a boxer.
“This isn’t to take anything away from AJ, he's a great fighter and did some amazing things in his career, but when he beat Klitschko that was the peak of his career. And after that, he's been progressively slipping down just a little bit every fight.
“Ever since the day that AJ was supposed to fight Jarrell Miller but he fought Ruiz, he's been on the way down." He said. “Even in his last win against Pulev he looked okay, but he did not look great and did not look like the old AJ.”
