Conor McGregor believes Anthony Joshua has a "tough ask" to secure revenge against Oleksandr Usyk this summer.
'AJ' will likely renew his rivalry with Ukrainian star Usyk this summer, with the fight set to take place on July 23 in Saudi Arabia, pending official confirmation. Joshua lost his unified titles to the former undisputed cruiserweight champion in London last year, and will need to bounce back for the second time in his career.
McGregor has hailed both heavyweights as "good guys" and believes the heavyweight division is thriving in the current climate. "It didn't go so well the last time, it’s a tough ask," said McGregor when speaking to Sky Sports. "AJ is a good guy and I wish him well. Usyk is a great guy as well and I hope for a good bout for both men. The heavyweight division is on fire at the minute. Good things are happening."
The Irishman is searching for his own redemption in the UFC having lost three of his last four bouts and will target a winning return later this year. He also hinted at the possibility of making a return to the boxing ring himself, having fought undefeated legend Floyd Mayweather in 2017.
Joshua will need to recover from defeat for the second time in his career, having been beaten by Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 before outpointing his Mexican rival later that year. He has made a change to his training team and is working with new head coach Angel Fernandez at Loughborough University.
He is waiting for the go-ahead to share the ring with Usyk, with promoter Eddie Hearn suggesting the fight could be pushed back even further into the summer. Joshua was criticised for his tactical approach to their first duel and accused of being "gun-shy" by fans after the fight.
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However, the former two-time champion has admitted he will now work to a designated game plan for the first time in his career. "If I'm honest with you, this is the first time in my career I'd say we are specifically working to a game plan," Joshua said during a Q&A with the Oxford Union.
"So it will all make sense after July 23. I've based a lot of my success on raw ability, with the right coaches, experienced coaches. But they probably knew I had ability. So, it's just about neutering that ability. What tends to happen is, we overthink things too much when there isn't a game plan.
"Because things don't always go our way when it's based on raw ability. "So I believe when I start looking at social media now, you're seeing so many different aspects of training and stuff. So raw ability wasn't enough, so now I'm gonna try out this new game plan training and see how it goes."
