Ward: 'Big muscles get in the way' of Joshua

Excess muscle mass is a problem Anthony Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs). Thinks so Andre Ward, former two-time champion and 2004 Olympic champion in Athens.

AJ is in the final stretch of preparation for a rematch with Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs). Their rematch is to take place on August 20 in Saudi Arabia. In their first fight at the end of September last year, the Ukrainian entered the ring with a weight of 100.35 kg, while the thinner Briton weighed almost 109 kg (108.85). It's still too much, according to Ward, and heavy muscles are not AJ's allies.

“For a good six, maybe even seven years, I tried to convince Joshua to get rid of muscle mass. Then he will be faster, take more hits, and not catch a crisis in the middle of a fight. In my opinion, if you lose these muscles a little, the boxer will be better, ”says Ward, who at some point even wanted to fight against Joshua and compete for his championship belts.

“I thought about the fight with Joshua at some point. This was after the second fight with Kovalev. Before I retired, I wanted to do three more fights. First, a warm-up fight in the USA. Then the fight in the UK in the first heavyweight division. At the end, the fight with Joshua was supposed to take place, ”Ward said in June 2019.

After losing to Usyk, Joshua parted ways with longtime coach and mentor Robert McCracken. He was replaced by Robert Garcia.