Sergey Lapin, a member of Oleksandr Usyk’s management team, believes his boxer will be an even better fighter in next year’s rematch with Anthony Joshua.
Back in September, Usyk outboxed Joshua over twelve rounds to capture the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles.
Joshua has since exercised an immediate rematch clause – with their second encounter likely to take place in the first quarter of 2022.
And while Joshua has promised to be an even better fighter in the next fight, Usyk’s manager explains that his boxer was far from 100% in the initial meeting.
“I have known Oleksandr for more than 20 years. I have been there and seen all of his successes in boxing. One thing that sets him apart is he processes information and adapts to the fighter in front of him very, very quickly. It sometimes seems to me that he is from another planet – he is that good,” Lapin told Mybettingsites.
“Despite the fact that he has a huge amount of experience and fights behind him, he is constantly improving and getting better every training day. I have seen and know what Usyk is really capable of, and the version of Usyk in the fight with Anthony Joshua was 60-70 percent of his potential. So yes, Usyk can really be better.”
However, Lapin – who also possesses years of experience as a trainer – felt Joshua looked very good in the September fight.
“To be honest, in the fight with Usyk, I saw the best version of Joshua in years. Joshua is strong-willed and has character. All belts were at stake, and he went all-in, but lost. I don’t understand at all why most boxing skeptics say Joshua’s wrong strategy was the explanation for Usyk’s victory,” Lapin said.
“This victory was not just a lucky blow, as in the fight with Ruiz, it was a victory by all criteria. As for the immediate rematch, right after the end of the 12th round, I heard Anthony say: “Hey, Alex, I know how to beat you, I want a rematch”. Now he will try to take back his title. We are definitely looking forward to a very cool rematch.”
Source: BoxingScene