The two-time undisputed heavyweight champion is helping Joshua prepare for his upcoming fight with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul
13:44, 02 Dec 2025
Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua have teamed up over the last few weeks(Image: PA)
Oleksandr Usyk has vowed to help Anthony Joshua prepare for a potential all-British heavyweight showdown with Tyson Fury.
The two heavyweight stars have formed a rather unique friendship despite sharing a total of 24 rounds with each other. Usyk emerged victorious on both occasions, but is now passing on his wisdom to Joshua – a former-two time unified heavyweight world champion.
Usyk is helping Joshua prepare for his return to the ring later this month. ‘AJ’ has not fought since his crushing knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024 in front of over 95,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. The 36-year-old is set to take on YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a professional heavyweight dust-up on December 19 in Miami.
Joshua is merely using the clash as a way to get some crucial minutes under his belt ahead of a competitive return to action in February. Should the Brit come away from his next two bouts unscathed, he is hoping to square off with Fury next summer. During a recent interview with Boxing King Media, Usyk has promised to help ‘AJ’ out for a clash with the ‘Gypsy King.’ “Yeah. I will help him,” he said.
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Recalling the link-up, Team Usyk’s Sergey Lapin revealed to OLBG: “Nothing happens by accident. AJ is someone who’s always looking to grow. That’s why he reached out — he wants new solutions and honest work that can take him to the next level.” He added: “AJ came over, he and Usyk worked together, but there was no sparring — Jake Paul isn’t a southpaw, so it didn’t make sense. He shared his experience during the preparation process.”
The ‘Gypsy King’ retired back in January after back-to-back defeats to Usyk, but has hinted at a potential return to the ring over the last few months. Fury is constantly filming himself in training amid talks of a 2026 comeback. During a recent interview with the Sun, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn revealed that Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh is still interested in pitting Fury against Joshua, despite the Morecambe brawler’s mixed signals.
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“I love our spot for so many reasons,” said Hearn. “We were gonna run out against Cassius Chaney for I don’t know, 1/40th of the money that we’re getting to fight Jake Paul. We’re still getting that run out, right? And when I say the run out, all we wanted to do was wrap the hands, go through the procedure. And then we get the chance with His Excellency to go into a big fight in February and then go into what will hopefully be the Tyson Fury fight.
“But we’ll do it here with a massive profile. You see, the clever thing about this deal is overnight we’re back as the hottest thing in boxing. And once we smash Jake Paul in December, we’ll be 100 per cent, unquestionably the hottest thing in boxing. So I get the whole, ‘But do you think that it taints his legacy and all that?’ Sometimes in life you’ve just gotta think a little bit bigger than that. This is an opportunity that couldn’t be missed.”
When is Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul?
Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul will clash in Miami on December 19, just six days before Christmas. The pair will likely walk to the ring at around 11pm local time which would be 4am in the UK. Fight times are usually set to benefit the American audience and are subject to change depending on how long the undercard takes to complete. The event is set to be shown live on Netflix.
