Eddie Hearn’s dad Barry reveals ‘gobsmacked’ Anthony Joshua’s four-word statement after joining Oleksandr Usyk’s camp

ANTHONY JOSHUA was left gobsmacked and exhausted just 48 hours into his first training sessions with Oleksandr Usyk. AJ has chopped and changed trainers over the years after leaving long-time mentor Rob McCracken after defeat to Usyk in 2021. Anthony Joshua in training camp with Oleksandr Usyk Credit: Instagram Joshua in Usyk’s Valencia training camp Credit: Instagram @iegor_golub For the rematch, he switched to American Robert Garcia sparking an improved performance, but again ending in a loss. Joshua has since worked with Derrick James and most recently Harlow’s Ben Davison – before they parted following defeat to Daniel Dubois in 2024. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! AJ then spent the summer of 2025 secretly training with Usyk’s camp in Valencia, where he was left speechless at the intensity of their sessions. Barry Hearn, father to promoter Eddie, told SunSport: “He’s found a new level of training. “Obviously he’s always had good trainers around him, he’s been very disciplined in his career and must think to himself when he went to bed at night, ‘I’ve really pushed the barriers’. “But what he’s found out is that those barriers actually probably weren’t far enough. Now he’s picking up with Oleksandr Usyk. “I remember he phoned me after about two days in Usyk’s camp and said ‘I can’t believe this’. “He says: ‘I’m gobsmacked actually. I’m getting slaughtered. I didn’t realise there was this level to go to.’ Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS The Home of Boxing in 2026 There's a massive year of boxing ahead! It’s shaping up to be a blockbuster year of action inside the boxing ring. Anthony Joshua returns to the ring in July to face Kristian Prenga ahead of a potential blockbuster bout against Tyson Fury later in the year. The Gypsy King also features in a warm-up bout the day before AJ, as he takes on Mariusz Wach in Thailand. And Moses Itauma returns for his toughest fight yet against Filip Hrgovic in August. Here’s all the big fights coming up… July Fri 24 – Tyson Fury vs Mariusz Wach Sat 25 – Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga – DAZN PPV Sun 26 – Errol Spence Jr vs Tim Tszyu August Sat 1 – Pierce O’Leary vs Mark Chamberlain – DAZN Sat 15 – Claressa Shields vs Kaye Scott – DAZN Sat 29 – Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic – DAZN September Sat 12 – Conor Benn vs Ryan Garcia – DAZN *If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenue. Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga - all the info Anthony Joshua faces Kristian Prenga in his huge comeback fight “It’s been an education for him. He’s a bright young man, he assimilates knowledge. “Part of him is saying, ‘I wish I was like this five years ago,’ but you can’t think like that, there’s no point looking back. “He’s got to look forward and he’s up for the job.” Joshua, 36, returns on Saturday night in Jeddah against little-known 20-1 Albanian Kristian Prenga, 35. And it marks just his second bout under the guidance of Usyk’s camp. The first came in December when he knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, 29, in six rounds of their farcical mismatch fight in Miami. But just ten days later, tragedy struck when AJ was involved in a fatal car crash while holidaying with pals in Nigeria. Joshua survived but childhood friend Latif Ayodele and recovery therapist Sina Ghami sadly lost their lives in the motorway smash. The two-time heavyweight champion took a period out of boxing to recover from the injuries sustained in the crash and mourn the loss of his fallen friends. But now he returns eight months later – with a Battle of Britain against Tyson Fury already signed for the end of the year. Hearn, speaking as he announced a new partnership with Brentwood Town, added: “He’s very motivated by losing those two boys and looking after their families and things like that. He’s that type of guy. “But suddenly he’s also talking about three more years and I’m going to do this and this and this and this, whereas I was thinking about the Tyson Fury fight being the final one.” Hearn also revealed that while both he and Eddie want the mega-fight to take place at Wembley, it will ultimately be up to Turki Alalshikh. Comment now