Usyk battered Klitschko in brutal sparring session that will worry AJ

Oleksandr Usyk was once kicked out of sparring with Wladimir Klitschko after embarrassing the boxing legend in a one-sided session.

Usyk is set to lock horns with unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Saturday, with the pair going head to head at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London.

The slick Ukrainian southpaw will be bidding to become a two-weight world champion, having also claimed all four belts down at cruiserweight before making the move up to heavyweight.

While he is widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, many believe Usyk will not have the size to trouble the physically superior Joshua.

However, former cruiserweight world champion Johnny Nelson's revelation about one of his sparring sessions with Klitschko, whom AJ went hell for leather with in 2017, suggests otherwise.

According to Nelson, Usyk boxed rings around the long-reigning heavyweight champion before his clash with Tyson Fury in 2015 – so much so that he was slung out of the ring after one round.

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"I rate Usyk," the Sky Sports pundit told Behind the Gloves in 2018.

"When I saw him sparring with Wladimir when Wladimir was preparing for Tyson Fury, I said 'Who is that guy? Who is he?'

"I had no idea, but I know there was something special about him.

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"He did one round with Wladimir, and Wladimir slung him out and said, 'get out, not while the press is here.'

"He was making it hard for Wladimir. He was like bossing Wladimir. 'Get him out. Get somebody else in'."

Klitschko is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, enjoying an 11-year reign as champion before his defeat against Fury.

  • Anthony Joshua is missing out on £85m pay day by fighting Oleksandr Usyk

He was then stopped by Joshua in a historic bout at Wembley Stadium in April 2017, which saw him drop the Brit and come close to finishing the job before his eventual demise.

Many believe Usyk will provide AJ's toughest test since Klitschko on Saturday, and Nelson's sparring revelation certainly justifies that.

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