Eddie Hearn has admitted that Anthony Joshua has received an “unbelievable lift” from training with Oleksandr Usyk in Ukraine, just months after surviving a car crash that killed two of his teammates. The promoter described the sessions as “incredible” after witnessing Joshua’s gruelling circuits and sprints.
Hearn recalled: “When I was there, he’d be doing these tempo sprints… then he’d go over and do this kettle-bell circuit, then he’d do sledge… I’m like: ‘What the f***?’” He added that Usyk was constantly pushing Joshua, saying: “Push, push, push.”
Despite their history as rivals—Usyk outpointed Joshua in two world-title fights—the pair have been training together. Hearn believes this partnership will benefit Joshua ahead of a potential showdown with Tyson Fury, who recently ended his retirement and called out Joshua after a win over Arslanbek Makhmudov.
“I’ve always been confident he beats Tyson Fury, but I’m so sure he beats Tyson Fury,” Hearn stated. He also revealed that Joshua will likely have another fight before facing Fury, and plans to train with Usyk for both bouts.
Usyk himself predicted Joshua would beat Fury, saying: “I know he wins… I looked at how Anthony is training, he’s a machine.” The Ukrainian also noted Fury’s performance against Makhmudov was not impressive, but acknowledged Fury’s win.
