KEY POINTS

  • Ricky Hatton's advice to Anthony Joshua is to be more aggressive and go all out against Oleksandr Usyk in the rematch
  • British promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that Joshua has activated his rematch clause for spring of 2022
  • Usyk made Joshua look unskilled in their first fight, hitting him with straights down the middle

Ricky Hatton has given Anthony Joshua a very simple, yet sensible, gameplan to follow when he rematches Oleksandr Usyk next year.

“I'd keep the tactics dead simple: ‘[Usyk] outboxed me last time, this time I'm going to [expletive] bash you. At this level, it's probably not as simple as that, but I just think there's so much [Anthony Joshua]’s got to offer,” claimed the British knockout artist as quoted by Boxing Scene.

The 6-foot-3 Ukrainian battered Joshua for the better part of their 12-round affair for the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO titles last September.

Despite having the four-inch reach advantage and three-inch height advantage, Joshua allowed Usyk to get inside his range, rendering his jabs and straights useless.

The southpaw Usyk clearly had the advantage in terms of overall boxing skill as he was able to land counters and lead jabs against the orthodox 2012 Olympic gold medalist.

Joshua kept his lead left foot inside Usyk’s lead right foot, letting Usyk throw straights down the middle repeatedly, leading to the unanimous decision victory.

In early October, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that the British heavyweight has activated his rematch clause and said that the fight will be happening in early spring of next year.

The British standout had been the favorite in the first fight but has since become the underdog after his surprisingly weak showing against Usyk.

The two-division champion in Hatton echoed the same sentiments, even thinking that Usyk would be able to stop Joshua with the knowledge of the bigger man opting not to use his advantages.

However, “The Hitman” also recognizes Joshua’s caliber, thinking that losing to Usyk would be the much-needed wake-up call for him.

“I think the opposite. You've got to be able to adapt, and if it's one thing [Anthony Joshua] has, it's that adaptability. He can box, as he proved by winning Olympic gold and regaining the heavyweight title. He can mix it up,” Hatton explained.

Being a former champion himself, Hatton’s comments make sense as he had been in the ring against some of the best that boxing has to offer, facing off against the likes of Paulie Malignaggi, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

Josuha’s stature among boxing fans certainly took a massive hit in the loss to Usyk and needs to convincingly defeat the 34-year-old Ukrainian to prove that he deserves a fight with either Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder in the future.

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