‘I want to smash my opponent’: Tony Joshua vows

Barely four days to the much awaited rematch Anthony Joshua is looking to bringing the ‘aggressive aspect’ back to the forefront of his boxing, as he prepares battle Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night.

Usyk stripped Joshua of his World Heavyweight Championship titles when he beat the Brit by unanimous decision last December.

There will be an extra belt up for grabs on Saturday after Tyson Fury vacated the Ring Magazine title earlier this month.

‘I wanted to outbox my opponent, whether it was Usyk or anyone else, that was the mindset [in the first fight],’ Joshua told Sky Sports.

‘I wanted to outbox my opponent and on Saturday I want to smash my opponent.

‘I was amateur for three and a half years and I done a lot in that time and I asked myself how? It wasn’t down to the skill element, because I was outclassed in terms of skill and experience by a lot of my competitors on the world scene.’

The boxer went on to explain how he had at times taken a too technical approach and not focused enough on what had made him initially successful. He said: ‘As you get more experience you try to develop as a rounded athlete. But ultimately, you can’t take your eye off the factor of what got you to where you are which is that aggressiveness.’

‘It’s not like I’m trying to rediscover a path. I always understand where that is. I just tried to be more elusive and add more strings to my bow.

‘I was focusing more on different things in my career, for example having a better jab, hitting and not getting hit.’

Joshua continued: ‘You’ve got to focus on that aggressive aspect, that competitive spirit and at the end of the day, I don’t give a damn about your jab, I don’t care how good that jab is, I don’t care how good this is. I don’t care how good you are – my competitive spirit will overcome all obstacles.