Anthony Joshua warned about Oleksandr Usyk’s ‘very difficult’ style

Michael Hunter has warned Anthony Joshua about Oleksandr Usyk’s style as he believes it’s the ‘most difficult’ in terms of the Brit getting a win.

Hunter was dealt his only defeat by Usyk on points and has sent the message to Joshua ahead of the fight on Saturday where he has his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles on the line.

“He [Usyk] is fleet-footed and defensive-minded,” Hunter told Sky Sports. “It will be very difficult to actually get a win over Usyk in a certain fashion.

“Joshua will have to have a concrete game-plan and follow it. It will be a very hard task. If he pulls it off? Give the man credit. Because this style of fighting, for him, is the most difficult.”

Joshua will be determined to win the fight, not just to retain his belts, but to set up a spectacular showdown with Tyson Fury. The pair had plans to bout but they had to be tabled after Fury was ordered by a court to see out his trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder.

If Fury can retain the WBC belt on 9 October, it will set out a massive heavyweight battle between the two British stars. It’s not only fans who want the fight to happen, Joshua himself has said he ‘needs’ the fight.

He told BBC 5 Live: “Do I need Tyson Fury on my record? I need it. We need it for boxing. It’s what we all need, I need it. Come on, let’s see how good I am.

“Fight good fighters and they bring out the best of you. Training camp is hard. To get better is very difficult in boxing. To fight Tyson Fury is a big challenge. Let’s see how far I can take myself during this period. It’ll be a good challenge mentally. Not about him, but because I actually want to do well.”