Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Oisin Doherty

‘Unreal’ Anthony Joshua more than capable of beating Oleksandr Usyk says training partner Kieran Molloy

Anthony Joshua can ‘100%’ beat Oleksandr Usyk and regain his heavyweight world titles when the pair face off later this month according to Kieran Molly.

Molloy, a 23-year-old boxing prospect from Galway, is a training partner of Joshua and has worked with him on many different occasions.

And the light-middleweight has full confidence in AJ to avenge his decision defeat to Usyk last year.

READ MORE: Check out our boxing section

“Ah he’s unreal and he’s so down to earth as well,” says Molloy.

“He’s just a normal person and it’s great to be given the opportunity to train in the same gym as him.

“We all push each other on. There are no egos in the gym, everyone trains hard.”

The Galway star returns to the ring this Saturday when he takes on Evgeny Vazern at the SSE Arena on the undercard of Michael Conlan’s ‘Return of the Mick Show.’ After the fight, Molloy faces an Odyssey to the Middle East, where he will join up with AJ and help with the final preparations ahead of the star’s World Heavyweight title showdown in Saudi Arabia.

“Joshua and his team actually in Saudi right now and I’m going to fly out to them after this fight. I’ve a week away first with the missus, it’s been a long six months!

“But then I’m going to fly straight out to Saudi to hopefully cheer him on to a win.”

Much has been made of the conservative, risk averse approach that Joshua has taken in his last few fights. However, if Molloy’s comments are to be believed, Joshua is set to go back to basics and will bring the fire when he takes on Usyk on August 20.

“I think we’ll see a much more aggressive Anthony Joshua this time around, a bit like the old days. He’s been working extremely hard and wants to win his belts back.

“It’s a very difficult fight for him. Usyk’s a class operator and pound for pound one of the best boxers out there.

“But Joshua can definitely pull it off 100%. He’s got the power and he’s got all the tools to get the win. So hopefully he takes into the ring what he’s been practicing in training and gets the win.”

READ NEXT:

Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.