Anthony Joshua must flirt with ‘disqualification’ to win Oleksandr Usyk rematch, claims David Haye

‘AJ’ was comprehensively outpointed by the unbeaten Ukrainian in London last September

David Haye has urged Anthony Joshua to use greater physicality in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, encouraging “AJ” to flirt with disqualification in order to win back the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles.

Usyk outpointed Joshua in London last September to win the belts from the Briton, who takes on the unbeaten Ukrainian again in Saudi Arabia on 20 August.

Haye backed Joshua ahead of the 32-year-old’s first clash with Usyk, and the former cruiserweight and heavyweight champion is siding with AJ again this month – but suggested that his compatriot must employ a different strategy.

“I’m going to go with Anthony Joshua again,” Haye told Pitch Boxing in July. “I went with him in a big way in the first fight, he didn’t fight in the manner which I thought he was going to, that I think would have given him the best chance of winning.

“He applied probably the worst tactics you could do against a southpaw: gave him range, was respectful inside, in close. There were no warnings from the ref about deducting points because he never imposed himself.

“I think [Joshua] has watched it back and knows what he needs to do. He’s got a good team who’s gonna drill it into him that this is not a boxing match, this has got to be a dog fight from the first bell.

Former cruiserweight and heavyweight champion David Haye (Bradley Collyer/PA) (PA Archive)

“He should be this close to getting a point deducted or disqualified, that’s how physical he needs to be, because he’s a specimen like no other in the heavyweight division. He is physically the supreme heavyweight right now.

“He just needs to apply that into a style that’s useful, and last time round it wasn’t very useful at all. This time around he really has to do it, and I believe he will do it.”

Joshua has added Robert Garcia to his coaching team ahead of this month’s rematch, while the Briton’s long-time coach Rob McCracken has stepped away from the team.

Joshua’s loss to Usyk was the second of his professional career, with Andy Ruiz Jr having stopped the 32-year-old in June 2019. Joshua avenged that loss with a decision victory over the Mexican-American at the end of that year to reclaim the titles that he will try to win back from Usyk this month.