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Joshua cautions Usyk ahead of Saturday’s heavyweight showdown

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The long-awaited boxing match between world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua and his challenger Oleksandr Usyk is finally happening this Saturday.

The showdown billed for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London will see Usyk fight only his third heavyweight match as a professional, having formerly been the undisputed cruiserweight world champion.

Joshua has cautioned Usyk, saying he was diving into the deep too soon, and it is important he tries to survive it.

The Briton said Usyk was taking a gamble by fighting him when he has relatively little experience in heavyweight.

Usyk has “jumped in at the deep end,” Joshua said, adding that Saturday will be sink or swim time.

Read Also: ‘Joshua vs Fury super-fight more likely to happen in February, 2022’

“He’s done well at heavyweight.

“The difference is when say Evander Holyfield came up to heavyweight, I think he had six fights at heavyweight before he fought for the championship belt. That was against Buster Douglas.

“Usyk’s fought two heavyweights. He’s obviously had the experience of fighting at heavyweight in the World Series of Boxing when he was an amateur, but he’s jumping in at the deep end early on.

“But good luck to him, he must believe in himself. He wants to be at the top end early.

“It’s better to swim deep – to get in there and get on with it – rather than tread water. You could still end up drowning anyway. You could still get caught in a current and drown.

“You might as well jump in the deep end and try to survive.”

Joshua is the unified WBA Super, IBF and WBO champion, and will be risking all the titles at the showdown.

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