Anthony Joshua has already been beaten by Usyk twice and knows first hand how tough he is to break down – losing one fight unanimously in 2021 and the second on a split decision in 2022.

Anthony Joshua believes Oleksandr Usyk will have too much for Tyson Fury when the pair meet in their rematch at the end of this year, calling the Ukrainian a “class operator”.

Joshua has already been beaten by Usyk twice and knows first hand how tough he is to break down – losing one fight unanimously in 2021 and the second on a split decision in 2022.

Since those crushing defeats, Joshua has rebuilt himself with four straight victories – including an explosive KO win over Francis Ngannou earlier this year – and now has a chance to become a three-time world champion against Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on September 21.

Should he beat Dubois, Joshua is likely to face the winner of Usyk and Fury – with boxing fans clamouring to see the Brit set up a highly-anticipated all-British showdown against Fury.

However, Joshua believes Usyk is more likely to come out on top and believes he will “edge” their next contest in December after outsmarting Fury with a split decision victory this summer.

“I think it’s going to be a tough fight early on and then I feel like Usyk will edge it again,” Joshua told Queensberry Promotions. “He’s a class operator and I feel like Usyk’s one of the best out there. That’s why I think he’ll win.”

Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999 after defeating Fury – who believes he won the fight after scores of 115-112, 113-14 and 114-113.

Fury and Usyk are preparing for their rematch in December.

“I believe I won that fight,” Fury said. “I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won the majority of them, and I believe it was one of those what-can-you-do, one of them… decisions in boxing. But make no mistake, I won that fight, in my opinion, and I’ll be back.”

As for Joshua, he faces one of the toughest fights of his career against a dangerous Dubois who has earned admirers following impressive wins over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic – bouncing back superbly following his own defeat to Usyk last summer.

After Dubois labelled himself as a “king slayer”, AJ said he was confident in his abilities and “walks like a king”, adding: ‘”I walk in my power, in the sense that I believe in myself.

“I walk as a king, I have to walk that way because everyone should in this life. You should always be confident. Why not? In terms of where he puts me, I’m not worried about it… all that matters is where I put myself.”