Anthony Joshua shocks fans with Oleksandr Usyk link-up ahead of Jake Paul showdown
Anthony Joshua has surprised fans after confirming that he will be preparing with Oleksandr Usyk’s team for his next fight.
Since splitting with long-time head coach Rob McCracken after his first loss to Usyk back in 2021, Joshua has bounced around camps. He worked with Robert Garcia and Derrick James, before a brief link-up with Ben Davison that he appears to have finished after being knocked out by Daniel Dubois.
READ: Why I misled Paul’s team about Joshua’s weight – Hearn
Now as he prepares to face Jake Paul in Miami, Joshua claims to have linked with his great rival’s team, albeit without the input of Usyk himself. The pair have appeared friendly whenever they have met, but they aren’t actually teaming up and the Ukrainian is not currently with Joshua in camp.
Anthony Joshua joins up with Oleksandr Usyk’s team for Jake Paul fight
On Friday afternoon, Anthony Joshua came head-to-head with Jake Paul for the first time since their Netflix super-fight was announced on Monday. The pair looked comically mismatched in terms of size, but stayed relatively respectful of one another in the build-up.
Aside from the face-off itself, it was not a particularly noteworthy press conference as the pair refused to engage in the trappings of trash talk that usually come with these sorts of events. However, Joshua did drop a bombshell when asked by host Ariel Helwani who would be in his corner for the fight.
He revealed that he had been spending time working with Oleksandr Usyk’s team, albeit away from his old rival who recently dropped his WBO belt and lost undisputed status on a technicality.
“I was invited to train with Team Usyk,” Joshua told Helwani. “We’ve been doing some good training. He’s one of the best in the world. Getting an insight to how someone who’s achieved so much has been phenomenal. It’s been a great experience and it’s very challenging.”
Fans confused by Anthony Joshua’s exciting Usyk team news
Many fans have taken to social media to voice their confusion at the idea that Joshua is pulling out all the stops in order to prepare for a challenge like Paul. He noted that he finds too many distractions in London, and has as such gone international again.
“Trained by team usyk to fight Jake Paul… what a circus,” one fan wrote on Instagram, with another adding on X: “Yeah! Because you need an unbeaten champion to train with to ensure you beat the money man.”
Many fans noted that Joshua was already at a massive advantage given his size and world level experience. But they now feel he has an unassailable lead over Paul, writing: “Jake was already dead, but now he dead-dead.”
Another comical fan claimed that Usyk didn’t want his wins over Joshua to age poorly by him losing to Paul. “Usyk & his team were like ‘yeah you’re not f—ing this up & giving boxers a bad name we’re gonna help you’,” they wrote.
