Britain’s Anthony Joshua weighed in 23lbs heavier than champion Oleksandr Usyk for Saturday’s heavyweight world title rematch in Saudi Arabia.
Ukrainian Usyk was tipped to come in at a career-heaviest weight, but just about matched the previous fight by weighing in at 15st 11lbs (100.5kg).
Joshua, 32, came in at 17st 6lbs (110.9kg) with neither man showing any sign of nerves in the final face-off.
Usyk’s WBA (Super), WBO and IBF titles are on the line in Jeddah.
He is fractionally heavier than his last fight with Joshua when he weighed in at 220lbs, while Joshua is about 4lbs heavier.
Joshua cut a focused figure during the weigh-in, and the two-time world champion insisted there was nothing to glean from the final staredown.
“All this stuff – weight, face-off – none of it matters to me. I’m just looking forward to the fight,” he said.
Usyk is destined to be a future hall-of-famer, but there are still critics who feel he is not a natural heavyweight and too small for the division. He has competed just three times at heavyweight.
Speculation on the 35-year-old’s weight had been rife throughout fight week, with former British world champion Amir Khan – who visited Usyk in Dubai earlier this month – suggesting he may have put on as much as 30lbs since the last fight.
“You see, your expectations not every time are met,” Usyk said. – BBC.
