Joshua v Usyk odds: AJ the underdog in revenge bid
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Joshua v Usyk odds and preview
Anthony Joshua finds himself in the unusual position of being the underdog in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The British boxer will be attempting to win back the WBA, IBF and WBO titles he lost in September at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Usyk won the first contest between the pair on points and, in the Joshua v Usyk odds, is the clear favourite at 8/15 to triumph again with Joshua 6/4 to gain revenge.
What has changed?
Robert Garcia is now in Joshua’s corner and new tactics have been promised in a bid to stop the 32-year-old’s career from going into freefall.
Joshua’s game-plan of attempting to outbox a master technician in the first fight backfired as he fell to a comprehensive points defeat, as we detail in our analysis of that bout.
Garcia said: “I see a different Anthony now. The way he thinks, the way he talks. Everything he’s practising, everything he’s doing in the gym.
“I think he fought the wrong fight. He’s the bigger man, the stronger man, he’s got the reach advantage, so we’re going to take advantage of all that.”
Red Sea Redemption 🩸 pic.twitter.com/jmpbnqsbJy
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyjoshua) August 3, 2022
The fights is evens to go the distance again, with Usyk 7/4 to win on points once more and 12/5 to get a unanimous decision.
That was the case in London, with the judges scoring the fight 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 in favour of the Ukrainian.
What the fighters have said
Joshua: “It’s good to be back in Saudi Arabia. We’ve been here four weeks now, this is our fifth week. It feels like a second home, it’s been nice.
“May the best man win at the end of the day. I’m praying for victory and praying for a good fight as well. I want to do it this time.
“I’m going to come out…ding ding ding round one. Good defence, thinking positive, step forward…boom boom…one-two…Usyk drops…Joshua becomes three-time champion of the world in Saudi Arabia. Life is good!”
𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐓! It's fight week for the rematch between Anthony Joshua & Oleksandr Usyk 🔥#UsykJoshua2 pic.twitter.com/uUtWkSjqgJ
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) August 15, 2022
Usyk: “I anticipate here in my mind the style of boxing he will use but I can’t say what it is because he will watch this and change his style.
“I still have some time to go until the fight but now it’s media week so it’s more about interviews now. We’ve done a lot in our training camp and we are ready to show it on Saturday.”
Can history be repeated?
This will be Joshua’s second fight in Saudi Arabia after he avenged his defeat to Andy Ruiz with a comfortable points win in Riyadh in 2019.
Joshua has described himself as the “comeback king” and got off the canvas to beat Wladimir Klitschko five years ago.
In the Joshua v Usyk odds, Usyk is evens to score a knockdown while Joshua is 10/1 to win after being knocked down.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
