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Home » Vitali Klitschko: AJ must prove he’s Tyson Fury worthy vs Oleksandr Usyk

Vitali Klitschko: AJ must prove he’s Tyson Fury worthy vs Oleksandr Usyk

Former two-time WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko believes Anthony Joshua must silence the doubters against Oleksandr Usyk.

In the process, Joshua must prove he’s worthy of a fight with Tyson Fury by putting on a better performance than last time.

Discussions on AJ’s next move remain ongoing, with the Usyk return written into the contract from last September.

Usyk will repeat the feat, according to bookmakers and the vast majority of fight fans. However, if Joshua wants to fight Fury in the future, Vitali Klitschko says this is his chance to show he can be competitive.

KLITSCHKO

“[It’s a ] Huge fight. Right now, everybody doubts if Joshua is strong enough to fight Fury,” the Kyiv Mayor told Sky News. “He can give the answer in the Usyk fight.

“If Joshua beats Usyk, there will be huge interest [in Joshua vs. Fury]. It will be the main fight of the past ten years.

“Joshua is a classic boxer. Fury is unorthodox. Both are punchers. And both can decide the fight at any moment.

“Both are world-class fighters and can knock each other out at any second. That is why boxing is so interesting.”

Usyk dominated Joshua in his backyard at Tottenham’s Stadium. He ripped the title belts away and almost stopped the Briton into the bargain.

The consensus is that Joshua fought the wrong fight. He’s now giving his coaching team a ‘refresh’ in preparation for another meeting with Usyk.

GLADIATORS

Klitschko added: “Heavyweight fighters are like gladiators and have huge attention from the whole world.”

“I know the key to both fighters.”

Oleksandr Usyk Vitali Klitschko Shevchenko
Mark Robinson

On how the second Usyk vs. Joshua fight will go, Vitali concluded: “Everyone expects the rematch between Usyk and Joshua.

“Usyk is so strong, or did Joshua make mistakes? Who is stronger?

“That question interests every boxing fan. Let’s receive an answer. That’s why this fight must happen.”

WBN questioned whether Joshua might consider fighting a warm-up before facing Usyk again. Such was the gulf between the pair skill-wise in the first fight.

Deontay Wilder was certainly one name thrown into the mix. However, if Joshua doesn’t face Usyk, he’s more inclined to look further down the rankings.

The views expressed in this article are opinions of Phil Jay.

Phil Jay – Editor of World Boxing News since 2010 with over one billion views. Furthermore, follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.