Anthony Joshua weighs in 19lb heavier than OIeksandr Usyk for heavyweight clash

Anthony Joshua weighed in 19lb heavier than Oleksandr Usyk ahead of their heavyweight title clash tomorrow night.

Joshua stepped on the scale at today's weigh-in for the fight at 240lb, which was the same as he weighed for his fight against Kubrat Pulev last December.

Meanwhile, Usyk weighed in at a career high 221lb. The Ukranian weighed 199.5lbs for his heavyweight debut and 217lb for his win over Derek Chisora.

The 34-year-old Usyk has been packing on muscle since his fight with Joshua was announced in June.

The former unified cruiserweight champion has experience as a heavyweight from his amateur days, outpointing current British standout Joe Joyce in 2013.

Joshua said: "I don't really watch my weight. I don't know why there is this big thing about weight? I should be able to do the 12 rounds easily.

"There is no game-plan, just win, because you never know what is going to happen!"

Usyk addressed Joshua's advantage when speaking at yesterday's press conference.

He said: "The power is not about somebody being big or small, it's in your spirit. David [Haye] was three times less weight than [Nikolai] Valuev and that shows it [weight] doesn't matter."

Joshua, meanwhile, insisted it would have been silly of him to bulk up during his preparations for Usyk.

He said: "I'm looking trim for this fight. I'm fighting a guy who is a 12-round fighter. So it would be silly of me to go in there bulky with my muscles screaming for oxygen.

"I've been training like a 15-round fighter in this camp. I will be well-conditioned to fight. That is key. What happens when I train that way? My body adapts and takes its natural form. This is the form it has taken.

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"Also I practice having the ability to [punch] four times, not just once. It's a fight for the brain. Knowing what you've got in front of you and knowing how to deal with it.

"You can either be aggressive, corner [him], throw everything at it. Or take your time, be clever, then knock [him] out."

Joshua will hope a win against Usyk will set up a unification fight with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, assuming Fury gets past Deontay Wilder next month.

The two Brits agreed to fight on August 14 in Saudi Arabia, but their highly anticipated fight was cancelled when an arbitration judge ruled in favour of Wilder's trilogy against Fury.

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