Although AJ no longer relies as much on weightlifting and now obtains the majority of his bulk from boxing, what does his size reveal about his strategies on fight night?
An excellent place to start if you want to predict Anthony Joshua’s performance on any particular fight night is to look at his weight. Should he be heavy, as he was against Carlos Takam (18st 2lbs), there’s a strong possibility he plans to use force to submit his opponent. But if AJ appears lighter, as he did in the Andy Ruiz 2 bout (16st 13lbs), his strategy probably will be to move about the ring, bob and weave, hit, and avoid being hit.
Joshua appears to be in better shape than ever ahead of his defense match against Oleksandr Usyk this coming weekend, and we’re not the only ones who think so. WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie commented on Instagram pictures of Joshua, writing, “skinny, mean, boxing machine,” while another user added, “Champ, you look skinny!
While a lean and light physique means a fighter will be lighter on their feet it can also have the detrimental effect of reducing power. Joshua insists that won’t be the case and says he’ll be no less ferocious when he gets in the ring, but is that really true? Below you’ll find everything that AJ and his team have said about his current physique and what that means for this weekend’s fight.
What Anthony Joshua Has Said
Speaking to Sky Sports, Joshua revealed that while he isn’t trying to achieve a certain weight ahead of this weekend’s fight, he admitted being wary of his Usyk’s footwork and has slimmed down to mimic his opponent’s nimbleness and muscular endurance.
“I do look at my weight but I’m not trying to make weight because I’m a heavyweight,” said Joshua. “I tailor my training. I am getting a lot of experience, I’ve been fighting good fighters for a long time, I’ve studied them and learned about their training camps. I’ve learned how to condition my body for specific fights.
“I’m looking trim for this fight, but I’m fighting a guy who is a 12-round fighter, so it would be silly of me to go in there bulky with my muscles screaming for oxygen.
“I’ve been training like a 15-round fighter in this camp. I will be well-conditioned to fight. That is key. What happens when I train that way? My body adapts and takes its natural form. This is the form it has taken.”
But despite trimming down for the challenge of Usyk, Joshua has insisted that he won’t lose any power and will still be “solid as a rock”.
“I’m going to come in light. Run around the ring, try not to get hit. I’ll be on my bike all night. I don’t want to get out of 140 heartbeats per minute, so I’m really skinny.
“Listen, I’m as solid as a rock. I’m strong, I’m good at the weight. I don’t really focus on my weight. It’s just training. I just put in the work. These are different opponents and I’ve learnt about training for specific opponents. These guys go longer rounds.
“When you’re knocking out guys in three or four rounds, it’s different. I studied boxing and what works for me and weight is not a priority.”
What Anthony Joshua’s Team Has Said
It’s not just AJ who has been speaking about his physique for the Usyk challenge, his trainers have also been commenting. Speaking to SunSport, Joshua’s physio Rob Madden has said that AJ has learnt how to be lean and fast without losing power, and we should expect more of that during his fight with Usyk.
“The weight is always a team decision and effort but I think it has been more of a training adjustment than anything else,” said Madden. “There is a lot less weight lifting and strength work, he actually gets a lot of his bulk just from boxing itself. If you look at his biceps and shoulders, a lot of that comes from the heavy bag and the amount of boxing he does.
“The weight always depends on the opponent, he felt really fresh and fit at the Ruiz 2 (16st 13lbs) and Pulev (17st 2lbs) weights, without sacrificing his power as a natural asset.
“Going into the Usyk fight, you can see now that he is leaner than how heavy he was from Klitschko because he learned how heavy that feels and he personally prefers to hover a bit lower than that.”
