Former UFC champion Michael Bisping thinks Anthony Joshua should retire from boxing if he loses his rematch to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua, 32, is hoping to become a three-time heavyweight champion on August 20 by winning his belts back against Usyk. The Brit has been on a collision course to rematch Usyk ever since losing his titles to the Ukrainian last September. The fight is a pivotal moment in Joshua's boxing career and a win could set-up an undisputed clash with longtime rival Tyson Fury.
Bisping thinks if Joshua suffers the same fate against Usyk then he should hang up his gloves. There are still big fights to make for 'AJ' such as a clash with Deontay Wilder or a trilogy with Derek Chisora, but Bisping thinks Joshua has nothing left to prove in the ring. "If Joshua wants to continue to be one of the best, to go down in history as potentially the best British fighter we had and champion of the world, then he has to win this fight," Bisping said on his YouTube channel.
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"One has to think, I'm not trying to be negative here, if Joshua loses this fight then it's the end of the road. What more is he going to do? Is he going to come back and try to claw his way back to the top? He's been there, done it and he's got the t-shirt.
"He's made a tremendous amount of money, he's achieved everything you want to achieve by getting involved in combat sports. If he loses this one, he's lost his last two and he also lost his titles to Andy Ruiz. Certainly those big fights, the opportunities for them have sailed. So there's a lot of pressure for Joshua."
There were doubts whether Usyk would return to boxing following Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. The heavyweight champion joined the frontline to help defend against Russian attacks and only decided to fight Joshua again after the Ukrainian military persuaded him to do so.
"Oleksandr Usyk, for crying out loud his country is being invaded by Russia. His people are dying every single day, so when he goes in there of course he's got the stress and trauma of that," Bisping added. "He's got all of the distractions of when he's training, it's bad enough having a nagging wife, children are that annoying or arguing with your teammates.
"Imagine training for a massive fight like this, your home country is being f****ng invaded and people are dying every single day. Brothers that you know, training partners, family, friends? F*** me, talk about a distraction."
