Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko have not lent their support to compatriot Oleksandr Usyk ahead of Anthony Joshua fight but Vasyl Lomachenko’s dad has ‘taken him to the next level’

Oleksandr Usyk has the chance to dethrone Anthony Joshua and make a splash in the heavyweight division.

The Ukrainian conquered the cruiserweight ranks to become its undisputed king and by defeating AJ, he would become a unified heavyweight champion in just his third professional heavyweight fight.

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Joshua won the WBA (super) and IBO heavyweight titles against Usyk’s legendary compatriot Wladimir Klitschko and they struck up a friendship in the aftermath.

Usyk’s manager, Sergey Lapin, told that neither Klitschko brother has reached out to their countrymen as he approaches the fight of his career.

“Oleksandr has worked incredibly hard in training and will prove against Joshua that he is the best around, helped by the addition of trainer Anatoly Lomachenko who has brought his game to the next level.

“As for the advice from the Klitschko brothers, our fellow Ukrainians, we haven’t seen them in our training camp even once. Oleksandr has his own story, and he has been writing it for a long time, from the moment he came to the gym at a young age. He does not need anyone else.”

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Sounds like Usyk hasn’t gotten any tips from the Klitschkos and nor does he want it.

Following Lennox Lewis' retirement, Vitali and Wladimir acquired all four major heavyweight titles and amassed 40 heavyweight title fight victories between them. Without a doubt, they are legends.

His promoter, Alexander Krassyuk, has noticed Joshua’s far leaner physique in training camp. AJ retains a natural size advantage over Usyk, but it seems like he has slimmed down to make sure he has the requisite speed, too.

Usyk’s camp thinks Joshua is sacrificing one of his only advantages over the challenger.

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“We accept AJ shedding weight as good news because formerly a lot of experts gave his weight as an advantage.

“Now AJ is reducing his advantage. I’m not sure how he’s going to be on the scale and what kind of figure he will show, but he looks slimmer than in any of his previous fights. And that makes me think that AJ wants to present some boxing tactics for Usyk.”

The pair will battle it out on September 25 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and if AJ wins, he will have a clear path to the Undisputed title fight boxing fans still hope to see in 2022. If he loses, he has a rematch clause in the contract.

Two weeks after AJ vs Usyk, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder will meet for a third time over the WBC heavyweight title.

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