Oleksandr Usyk has reportedly sent many of his sparring partners packing as details of the Ukrainian’s brutal gym wars have been revealed, reports express.co.uk.
In preparation for his rematch with Anthony Joshua next month, Usyk has left no stone unturned and is looking “dangerous” in training.
Kazakh heavyweight prospect, Nursultan Amanzholov, has been sparring Usyk for a second camp running and according to his manager, Aamir Ali, ‘The Cat,’ is looking extremely spiteful and is leaving no prisoners in sparring.
“He (Amanzholov) says there are days when Usyk goes to war with him. It’s not easy to hurt Nursultan, but he’s been on the receiving end a few times. But a lot of his heavyweights have been sent back home if they can’t stay in camp,” Ali told Sky Sports. “They can’t keep up.”
Ali added: “He said as soon as (Usyk) came back from Jeddah, from the press conference, the day he arrived back, he phoned up Nursultan, who was sitting in his hotel and said to him, ‘I want you sparring today.’ Literally got off the plane and started sparring straightaway and (Amanzholov) said he was in a foul mood. He was in a really angry mood and wanted to go to war.
“He’s had over 300 amateur fights so he’s a really, really tough kid. (He can take) a lot of punishment.
“He was sending heavyweights, six foot six and whatnot back home. Nursultan was one of the only heavyweights that he kept on throughout the whole camp. Because he would actually challenge him and give him a very tough time and from what I understand there were points where Nursultan was being told by Usyk, ‘No I need you to come on harder.’ Like don’t hold back on me, just go to war. Anthony Joshua is in trouble.”
Usyk and Joshua square off for a second time on August 20 at the Jeddah Superdome, Saudi Arabia. Joshua is looking to regain the WBA (super), IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles that he lost on home soil to Usyk in September.
During that inaugural encounter, Joshua was criticised for not being aggressive enough and is expected to use his size and power more in the rematch under new coach Robert Garcia.
Clearly, Usyk, is expecting a similar approach from ‘AJ’ as he prepares for a more ruthless Joshua by fighting fire with fire against larger bodies.
