David Haye believes Anthony Joshua's decision to team up with Oleksandr Usyk will ultimately help him beat Tyson Fury. The former two-time heavyweight world champion is expected to return to the ring in July before taking on his long-time rival in November.
Fight Details and Build-Up
Last month, the pair finally agreed to meet in the ring, but Joshua must first get through Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25. 'AJ' was due to return action back in February, but was involved in a horrific car crash just days after his knockout victory over Jake Paul. Providing Joshua wins his comeback fight, a clash with Fury will officially be given the green light.
The 'Gypsy King' ended his year-long retirement back in April when he outpointed Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Just moments after dominating the Russian, Fury was quick to challenge Joshua, who was sitting ringside. Much to the frustration of fans, 'AJ' refused to step into the ring and face off with his bitter rival.
The all-British heavyweight dust-up is expected to take place in November, most likely at Wembley Stadium. Already, many are offering their verdict on the money-spinning showdown, which has been brewing for over a decade.
Haye's Analysis
Former cruiserweight and heavyweight champion Haye is leaning towards Joshua, simply because the fight has taken much longer to come to fruition. "I think the longer the fight has taken to take place, the further in Anthony Joshua's favour the fight goes," he revealed to Mirror Fighting. "If the fight was to have happened three, four, five years ago, I would have probably leaned towards Tyson Fury more. But as time's gone on, I think boxing particularly when you're getting into your late when you're starting to push 40, how you've looked after yourself between fights, how you've respected your body or not respected your body starts to show itself."
Haye added: "So I definitely think the longer the fight takes to happen, the fighter who's respected himself the most... although I'd say Tyson Fury skill for skill has a better skill set than AJ Joshua. I have never seen Anthony Joshua stand against the ropes with his hands down, slipping and sliding punches. Never seen him do that. He tucks up, keeps it simple, blocks the punches. Tyson Fury has a different game, but can he maintain the pace? Can he recover as quickly between fights, between training sessions? All unknown. So I'd edge towards Anthony Joshua."
The Usyk Factor
Another reason why Haye insists Joshua will emerge victorious is because of his decision to team up with Usyk. 'AJ' famously lost to the Ukrainian twice back in 2021 and 2022, but the pair are now seemingly on good terms. The 36-year-old has been training with Usyk in Valencia ahead of his return later this summer before taking on Fury. Joshua left trainer Ben Davison last year and had Usyk's team in his corner when he knocked out Paul in the sixth round last Christmas.
Haye explained: "I'm not sure how much you'll count the Jake Paul fight as a comeback fight but I'm not sure who the guy is that he's fighting next but going through a training camp, sparring good quality opposition, and the fact that it appears that he's kind of working with Team Usyk, I definitely think that was a master stroke by him. I know he's jumped from coach to coach, you know quite consistently over the years but finding infrastructure and team that you're genuinely open to learn from because you know it works because it's beaten you is the ultimate plan. And I think that is going to be the difference in this fight in regards to strategy, in regards to strength and conditioning, punch output."
He continued: "It's taken him a little while to get there and maybe he's had to have been beaten by someone conclusively twice to think, 'okay, whatever I've been doing isn't enough. What is it that you're doing? And I'm going to come to you respectfully and ask for assistance'... and Usyk's a great guy. What a great man, the fact he's willing to open the door and bring Anthony Joshua in and teach him the secrets that have made Usyk effectively unbeatable. So I think the Usyk connection is going to be the difference between Anthony Joshua beating Tyson Fury and him doing what he's done in the past which led to him losing to Daniel Dubois for instance."
David Haye was speaking ahead of his exclusive appearance at Paddy’s Sportsbook at The Hippodrome Casino for the all-British Heavyweight World Title clash Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois this Saturday (May 9).
