Anthony Joshua relishing underdog tag for Oleksandr Usyk rematch – Eddie Hearn

Anthony Joshua is thriving on his underdog status heading into Saturday’s heavyweight rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, according to his promoter Eddie Hearn.

Joshua is seeking to defy the odds by reclaiming the WBA, IBF and WBO belts he surrendered to the Ukrainian pound-for-pound contender at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year.

Although the conclusive points defeat was a shattering setback, Hearn believes Joshua has benefited from having a heavy burden lifted from his shoulders.

“The pressure’s off,” Hearn told the PA news agency. “I know he must win, but now he’s the underdog and people aren’t expecting him to win.

“He’s had to carry British boxing on his shoulders for years and years and that pressure has got to him. It’s arduous.

“People see this guy with belts, fame and money and just presume that’s a great life. But on the other foot, he’s also a young man who just wants to chill out and play football with his mates in the park, go for a coffee and do all these normal things he’s not able to do.

“It may not be as pleasing, exciting or entertaining, or provide as much happiness, as you might think. And he’s felt a lot of that pressure over the years because it’s a bubble he lives in.”

Joshua has spent over a month in Jeddah finalising preparations for ‘Rage on the Red Sea’, acclimatising to a city where the daily temperature hits the late thirties and where he is largely able to move unnoticed.

“Being out here for four weeks has been good for him – he’s been able to go to the mall, have a coffee, go for a stroll through the hotel without everyone jumping on him for photos and interviews,” Hearn said.

“People sometimes don’t understand that pressure and right now that pressure’s just been depleted a little bit.

“Let