‘Joshua knows he must beat Usyk in rematch to save career’

[FILE]Anthony Joshua reflected on his heavyweight defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, who claimed the IBF, WBA and WBO titles in London .

‘We were born to compete’

Anthony Joshua faced Oleksandr Usyk at the final press conference ahead of their high stakes rematch on Saturday and vowed he must win after September’s loss to the Ukrainian, reports skysports.com.

Usyk delivered an assured performance over 12 rounds last year to outpoint Joshua and win the WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles.

It leaves Joshua in an unusual position, that of the challenger. He will have to walk first to the ring on Saturday night and Usyk, the new champion, made him wait for his arrival at the start of their press conference at the Shangri La hotel in Jeddah yesterday too.

Usyk says that Saturday will see a great fight between him and Joshua after having time to study each other. Joshua knows his place at the top of the heavyweight division depends on this fight. He insisted he cannot afford to lose.

“That’s it. Must win,” he said.

“I like the pressure,” Joshua continued. “It’s been tough. [Now] just get the job done. Instinct, stay focused, get the job done, God willing, victorious.”

Joshua says he’s fully focused on Usyk ahead of their upcoming clash, insisting that it’s a ‘must win.’

“It’s competition,” he said of his motivation. “I’ve got goals I want to achieve in the ring on the night. That’s competition with myself. You’ve got to have a competitive spirit.”

Usyk is similarly inspired. “We were born to compete for life, for belts, for everything. The one who does not compete does not live,” he said.

“All our lives are competition, for anything, for something, for somebody. That’s why we are competing.” Joshua loomed over him in their final face-off, but