OLEKSANDRUSYK was warned not to gain weight for his fight with Anthony Joshua.
After weighing in at 15st 11lb, the Ukrainian beat AJ by 12 rounds last September.
Oleksandr Usyk at training camp to rematch Anthony Joshua
However, Usyk seems to have gained weight in their training material ahead of their second fight in Saudi Arabia on August 20th.
This is the wrong approach, according to Dave Coldwell, a trainer who coached Tony Bellew in his fight against the heavyweight champion.
Coldwell stated to The Express that Usyk will be more aggressive and try to land larger shots. However, his mobility and speed are his greatest assets and they will take a hit.
"It's going slow him down, if your speed is losing, you're giving yourself more options to hit. Not only that, but AJ should really focus on Usyk's body in order to remove his legs.
"Now, if he is aiming to do that and he wants to land to the body, then if you gain manufactured weight and muscle mass, you will tend to gas more quickly when you get banged down to the body.
We always look at AJ, and we say 'he is too big, he is too bulky'. That's why he gasses faster. If you get a few body shots on his stomach, he will gas quicker.
"Not only AJ, but all fighters who have high muscle density.
"But you don’t know how old this video clip is. I have stuff on my camera roll from my boxers in early camp days which I could put out, and people would be able to say, 'Wow! That’s him now?
"And it's certainly not, so you need to take it with a pinch. But if it's right now, then it's almost another twist in the analysis of this fight."
Joshua, 32, is replacing Rob McCracken, a long-serving cornerman, with American mastermind Robert Garcia.
However, Usyk, 35 years old, is open to making changes after he spent his training camp in Dubai.
Parimatch was told by Joshua: "Anthony Joshua, a strong man and a powerful boxer, cannot be dismissed in any way."
He will be different in the rematch. He will prepare differently. "I will also do that."
Anthony Joshua lost to Oleksandr Usyk in September last year
