Oleksandr Usyk has backed Anthony Joshua to knock out Tyson Fury in their long-awaited heavyweight showdown later this year. Despite Joshua surviving two frantic first-round knockdowns against Kristian Prenga, Usyk insists his training partner has the power to stop Fury inside the distance.
Joshua’s warm-up fight in Jeddah nearly ended in complete disaster on Saturday evening. A sudden, unassuming right uppercut from Prenga caught ‘AJ’ off guard and sent him crashing to the canvas within the opening 20 seconds of their contest. The 36-year-old was floored once more in the opening round, coming remarkably close to suffering a shocking first-round stoppage defeat in Saudi Arabia. However, the former champion summoned enough fighting spirit to recover quickly and engineer a second-round stoppage victory over Prenga.
By contrast, Fury encountered minimal difficulty during his own tune-up bout on Friday. The former two-time world champion banked seven comfortable rounds against 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in Pattaya, Thailand, cruising through his assignment without taking serious punishment.
With both former two-time world champions having completed their respective warm-up fights, the stage is finally set for their anticipated mega-clash later this year. Usyk watched both performances closely. The Ukrainian icon dethroned Joshua with a unanimous decision victory in 2021 before winning their immediate rematch via a split verdict in 2022. He then went on to score two points wins over Fury in 2024, with many viewing those contests as even more competitive than his fights against Joshua.
Despite seeing Joshua hit the deck twice on Saturday, Usyk maintains total belief in his former rival. The generational great now considers Joshua a friend and training partner. Speaking directly with talkSPORT, Usyk delivered a knockout prediction for the expected British battle. He stated: “AJ win. [He will] knock him out.”
Usyk remains convinced that Joshua possesses the exact punching power required to trump his long-time domestic rival inside the distance. Both former champions have now cleared their warm-up hurdles, setting the stage for an explosive heavyweight collision.
