Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
For their rematch for the heavyweight world championship on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, Anthony Joshua of the UK weighed in 23 pounds heavier than the champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk, a Ukrainian, was expected to compete at a career-heaviest weight but instead nearly matched the weight from the previous match, coming in at 15th 11lbs (100.5kg).
Joshua, 32, finished 17th 6lbs (110.9kg) in the last contest, neither guy displaying any signs of nervousness.
He weighs somewhat more than he did for their previous fight, when he was 220 pounds, and Joshua is roughly 4 pounds more.
The two-time world champion insisted there was nothing to learn from the final staredown as he maintained his composure during the weigh-in.
“None of this stuff, like weight or a face-off, matters to me. Just the combat itself excites me,” he remarked.
“I’ve been looking forward to this time for a very, very long time. It has been described as retribution or atonement. Whatever they want to call it, I don’t see it that way. It’s just a fight, and we’re in the closing moments before Oleksandr Usyk and I enter the ring once more for the continuation of our conflict.
The desire to put on a fantastic battle for the fans who have traveled from all over the world to be here is what unites us. That is how much they merit.
Usyk is set to become a future Hall of Famer, but some people still think he is too short and not a natural heavyweight. He has only three bouts under his belt at heavyweight.
Throughout fight week, there was much speculation regarding the 35-year-weight. old’s Former British world champion Amir Khan, who visited Usyk in Dubai earlier this month, suggested that the man may have gained up to 30 pounds since his last contest.
You can see that not all of the time, your expectations are met, Usyk stated.
After being soundly outboxed by Usyk 11 months prior, Joshua is anticipated to be much more aggressive in the rematch.
