Oleksandr Usyk holds no fear for Anthony Joshua – because the Brit would happily bash up King Kong.
Joshua puts his three heavyweight world titles on the line against the unbeaten former cruiserweight king on Saturday night.
And the unified champion vowed to keep hold of his belts as he came face to face with his rival for the first time.
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“You’ve got to want to train and want to out the work in and improve,” said Joshua.
“You’ve got to want to practice; when I started boxing it was fun, I was absolutely s*** when I started.
“This fight gives me the motivation to practice against a right-handed fighter so I’ve had fun in camp.
“It’s been demanding and challenging but we make it fun; when you can see improvements you want to do more.
“He was fighting for 10 or 12 years as an amateur before he went to the Olympics. He’s been fighting for a long time and he’s comfortable in this position.
“I love throwback fighters; I’m not a major historian but I do watch a lot of boxing. I don’t fight good fighters to make me look good, it’s just simple. If you tell me to fight King Kong I’d give it a good go.”
Usyk blitzed through the 200lb division before moving up to boxing’s premier division.
Victories over Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora were mere roadblocks on his path to Joshua.
And the Ukrainian gave little away two days before the first bell.
“I feel fine and I look forward to this,” he said.
“Every fight makes history and I think me and Anthony are going to make another step in history; this is something people will later talk about and remember.”
Joshua had been due to face fellow world champion Tyson Fury last month.
But Fury was ordered to face Deontay Wilder for a third time instead with their trilogy fight taking place next month.
And Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn knows his man must see off Uysk to keep that fight alive.
“[Joshua] has to beat Oleksandr Usyk to keep the undisputed dream alive and he wasn’t prepared to swerve the challenge of Oleksandr Usyk, he’s not that kind of guy,” he said.
“[Usyk is] definitely, a top-five heavyweight in the world. Maybe the No.1 heavyweight in the world – this is the scary thing.”
Photo Credit: Getty
