Unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has said Anthony Joshua requires more time to return to peak condition and the right mental state ahead of his comeback fight.
The former two-time unified heavyweight champion has recently been training with Usyk and his team in Ukraine.
Speaking to Boxing World, Usyk revealed that medical advice has indicated Joshua still needs additional time to fully recover.
“I think he’s getting better from what I see, Anthony is training well, but the doctor says, ‘please, take it slowly, not too fast yet. Take your time’.
“So physically he’s good, but he needs more time to fully heal.
“Mentally, I think he’s good too, because we talk every day. We train twice a day, morning and evening, and we’re always talking constantly.
“I tell him, he can talk to me when he needs to. Listen, I know Anthony, he’s a champion. Yes, right now he doesn’t have the belts, but for me that doesn’t matter.
“A champion is not always the one who has the belts.
“A champion is a man who lives right, who works, who looks to the future and says, ‘yes, I can. I will work and never give up’.”