Eddie Hearn, promoter for former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, explains that his boxer is beyond confident in his ability to overcome Oleksandr Uysk - with or without a trainer.
Back in September, Usyk outboxed Joshua over twelve rounds to capture the IBF, IBO, WBO, WBA world titles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight world champion, was the underdog in the contest - but most are tabbing him as the favorite in the rematch.
Joshua has an immediate rematch clause, which he exercised.
The second meeting is likely going to land on a date in April.
During the last few months, Joshua has been testing out various top trainers - and Hearn expects him to make changes.
Since turning pro, Joshua has worked with trainer Robert McCracken.
"He will make changes to his training team. But when I sat down with him last Monday about the step aside, he said, ‘I’ll beat Usyk.’ I said, ‘But you haven’t started working with your new trainer yet.’ He said, ‘I’ll beat him without a trainer.‘ He’s pumped for that fight, and it’s a really tough fight," Hearn told The MMA Hour.
"[Usyk is] really good. So it’s a tough fight for AJ. I just hope that AJ gets the credit for the fights that he takes. How many fighters honestly would have taken the Usyk fight if they were in Joshua’s position? How many would have vacated the belt and gone, ‘Oh, no, we’re going down another route.’ He wants this fight, and now he’s fighting him again straight off the bat. So May time is when we’re planning on doing that fight in the UK."
